Human goose-type lysozyme

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a human goose-type lysozyme (GOLY) and polynucleotides which identify and encode GOLY. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, antibodies, agonists, and antagonists. The invention also provides methods for diagnosing, treating or preventing disorders associated with expression of GOLY.

[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/844,036, filed Apr. 26, 2001, which is a divisionalapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/511,720, filed Feb. 23,2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,164, issued Jul. 31, 2001, which is adivisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/105,567, filedJun. 26, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,700, issued Jul. 4, 2000, all ofwhich applications and patents are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to nucleic acid and amino acid sequencesof a human goose-type lysozyme and to the use of these sequences in thediagnosis, treatment, and prevention of autoimmune/inflammatory, renal,and adrenal disorders and cancer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Lysozymes are a family of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis ofcertain mucopolysaccharides of bacterial cell walls, specifically thebeta (1-4) glycosidic linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid andN-acetylglucosamine, and cause bacterial lysis. Lysozymes occur indiverse organisms including viruses, birds, and mammals. In humans,lysozymes are found in spleen, lung, kidney, white blood cells, plasma,saliva, milk, tears, and cartilage. (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM) #153450 Lysozyme; Weaver, L. H. et al. (1985) J. Mol. Biol.184:739-741.)

[0004] The two known forms of lysozymes, chicken-type and goose-type,were originally isolated from chicken and goose egg white, respectively.Chicken-type and goose-type lysozymes have similar three-dimensionalstructures but different amino acid sequences. (Nakano, T. and Graf, T.(1991) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1090:273-276.) In chickens both forms oflysozyme are found in neutrophil granulocytes (heterophils), but onlychicken-type lysozyme is found in egg white. An analysis of theexpression pattern of chicken-type and goose-type lysozyme mRNA inchicken was performed. Chicken-type lysozyme mRNA is found in bothadherent monocytes and macrophages and nonadherent promyelocytes andgranulocytes as well as cells of the bone marrow, spleen, bursa, andoviduct. Goose-type lysozyme mRNA is found in non-adherent cells of thebone marrow and lung. The goose-type lysozyme gene cloned from chickenencodes a 211 amino acid protein containing a putative 26 amino acidN-terminal cleavable signal sequence. Homologous goose-type lysozymesare found in chicken, black swan, goose, and ostrich. Conserved residuesinclude the three catalytic center residues Glu99, Asp112, and Asp123(numbering from the chicken goose-type lysozyme precursor) and fourcysteines that are known to form two disulfide bonds in the black swangoose-type lysozyme. Several isozymes have been found in rabbits,including leukocytic, gastrointestinal, and possibly lymphoepithelialforms. (OMIM #153450, supra; Nakano (1991) supra; and GenBank g1310929.)A human lysozyme gene has been cloned that encodes a protein that issimilar to chicken-type lysozyme. (Yoshimura, K. et al. (1988) Biochem.Biophys. Res. Commun. 150:794-801.)

[0005] Lysozymes have several disease associations. Nakano (supra)suggested a role for lysozyme in host defense systems. Older rabbitswith an inherited lysozyme deficiency show increased susceptibility toinfections, especially subcutaneous abscesses. (OMIM #153450, supra.)Human lysozyme gene mutations cause hereditary systemic amyloidosis, arare autosomal dominant disease in which amyloid deposits form in theviscera, including the kidney, adrenal glands, spleen, and liver. Thisdisease is usually fatal by the fifth decade. The amyloid depositscontain lysozyme with amino-acid substitutions. Renal amyloidosis is themost common and potentially the most serious form of organ involvement.(Pepys, M. B. et al. (1993) Nature 362:553-557; OMIM #105200 FamilialVisceral Amyloidosis; Cotran, R. S. et al. (1994) Robbins PathologicBasis of Disease, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, Pa., pp.231-238.) Goose-type lysozyme is expressed in avian promyelocytestransformed with avian myeloblastosis virus containing the L106 mutantform of the v-myb oncogene. (Nakano, T. and Graf. T. (1992) Oncogene7:527-534; and Nakano (1991) supra.)

[0006] The discovery of a new human goose-type lysozyme and thepolynucleotides encoding it satisfies a need in the art by providing newcompositions which are useful in the diagnosis, treatment, andprevention of autoimmune/inflammatory, renal, and adrenal disorders andcancer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The invention is based on the discovery of a new human goose-typelysozyme (GOLY), the polynucleotides encoding GOLY, and the use of thesecompositions for the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention ofautoimmune/inflammatory, renal, and adrenal disorders and cancer.

[0008] The invention features a substantially purified polypeptidecomprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQID NO:1.

[0009] The invention further provides a substantially purified varianthaving at least 90% amino acid sequence identity to the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1. The invention alsoprovides an isolated and purified polynucleotide encoding thepolypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQID NO:1. The invention also includes an isolated and purifiedpolynucleotide variant having at least 70% polynucleotide sequenceidentity to the polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide comprising theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1.

[0010] The invention further provides an isolated and purifiedpolynucleotide which hybridizes under stringent conditions to thepolynucleotide encoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1, as well as anisolated and purified polynucleotide which is complementary to thepolynucleotide encoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1.

[0011] The invention also provides an isolated and purifiedpolynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 ora fragment of SEQ ID NO:2, and an isolated and purified polynucleotidevariant having at least 70% polynucleotide sequence identity to thepolynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 ora fragment of SEQ ID NO:2. The invention also provides an isolated andpurified polynucleotide having a sequence complementary to thepolynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 ora fragment of SEQ ID NO:2.

[0012] The invention further provides an expression vector comprising atleast a fragment of the polynucleotide encoding the polypeptidecomprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1. Inanother aspect, the expression vector is contained within a host cell.

[0013] The invention also provides a method for producing a polypeptidecomprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQID NO:1, the method comprising the steps of: (a) culturing the host cellcomprising an expression vector containing at least a fragment of apolynucleotide encoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1 under conditionssuitable for the expression of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering thepolypeptide from the host cell culture.

[0014] The invention also provides a pharmaceutical compositioncomprising a substantially purified polypeptide having the sequence ofSEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1 in conjunction with a suitablepharmaceutical carrier.

[0015] The invention further includes a purified antibody which binds toa polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment ofSEQ ID NO:1, as well as a purified agonist and a purified antagonist ofthe polypeptide.

[0016] The invention also provides a method for treating or preventingan autoimmune/inflammatory disorder, the method comprising administeringto a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of apharmaceutical composition comprising substantially purified polypeptidehaving the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ IDNO:1.

[0017] The invention also provides a method for treating or preventing arenal disorder, the method comprising administering to a subject in needof such treatment an effective amount of a pharmaceutical compositioncomprising substantially purified polypeptide having the amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1.

[0018] The invention also provides a method for treating or preventingan adrenal disorder, the method comprising administering to a subject inneed of such treatment an effective amount of a pharmaceuticalcomposition comprising substantially purified polypeptide having theamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1.

[0019] The invention also provides a method for treating or preventing acancer, the method comprising administering to a subject in need of suchtreatment an effective amount of an antagonist of the polypeptide havingthe amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1.

[0020] The invention also provides a method for detecting apolynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequenceof SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1 in a biological samplecontaining nucleic acids, the method comprising the steps of: (a)hybridizing the complement of the polynucleotide encoding thepolypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or afragment of SEQ ID NO:1 to at least one of the nucleic acids of thebiological sample, thereby forming a hybridization complex; and (b)detecting the hybridization complex, wherein the presence of thehybridization complex correlates with the presence of a polynucleotideencoding the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:1 or a fragment of SEQ ID NO:1 in the biological sample. In oneaspect, this method further comprises amplifying the polynucleotideprior to the hybridizing step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND TABLES

[0021]FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C show the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:1)and nucleic acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:2) of GOLY. The alignment wasproduced using MACDNASIS PRO software (Hitachi Software Engineering,South San Francisco, Calif.).

[0022]FIG. 2 shows the amino acid sequence alignment between GOLY(2372794; SEQ ID NO:1), chicken goose-type lysozyme (GI 63428; SEQ IDNO:7), produced using the multisequence alignment program of LASERGENEsoftware (DNASTAR Inc, Madison Wis.).

[0023] Table 1 shows the programs, algorithms, databases and cutoffscores (when appropriate) used to identify and characterize GOLY.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Before the present proteins, nucleotide sequences, and methodsare described, it is understood that this invention is not limited tothe particular methodology, protocols, cell lines, vectors, and reagentsdescribed, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention which will be limited only by the appended claims.

[0025] It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims,the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a referenceto “a host cell” includes a plurality of such host cells, and areference to “an antibody” is a reference to one or more antibodies andequivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

[0026] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms usedherein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methodsand materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can beused in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferredmethods, devices, and materials are now described. All publicationsmentioned herein are cited for the purpose of describing and disclosingthe cell lines, vectors, and methodologies which are reported in thepublications and which might be used in connection with the invention.Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the invention isnot entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

[0027] Definitions

[0028] “GOLY” refers to the amino acid sequences, or variant thereof, ofsubstantially purified GOLY obtained from any species, particularly amammalian species, including bovine, ovine, porcine, murine, equine, andpreferably the human species, from any source, whether natural,synthetic, semi-synthetic, or recombinant.

[0029] The term “agonist” refers to a molecule which, when bound toGOLY, increases or prolongs the duration of the effect of GOLY. Agonistsmay include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, or any othermolecules which bind to and modulate the effect of GOLY.

[0030] An “allelic variant” is an alternative form of the gene encodingGOLY. Allelic variants may result from at least one mutation in thenucleic acid sequence and may result in altered mRNAs or in polypeptideswhose structure or function may or may not be altered. Any given naturalor recombinant gene may have none, one, or many allelic forms. Commonmutational changes which give rise to allelic variants are generallyascribed to natural deletions, additions, or substitutions ofnucleotides. Each of these types of changes may occur alone, or incombination with the others, one or more times in a given sequence.

[0031] “Altered” nucleic acid sequences encoding GOLY include thosesequences with deletions, insertions, or substitutions of differentnucleotides, resulting in a polynucleotide the same as GOLY or apolypeptide with at least one functional characteristic of GOLY.Included within this definition are polymorphisms which may or may notbe readily detectable using a particular oligonucleotide probe of thepolynucleotide encoding GOLY, and improper or unexpected hybridizationto allelic variants, with a locus other than the normal chromosomallocus for the polynucleotide sequence encoding GOLY. The encoded proteinmay also be “altered,” and may contain deletions, insertions, orsubstitutions of amino acid residues which produce a silent change andresult in a functionally equivalent GOLY. Deliberate amino acidsubstitutions may be made on the basis of similarity in polarity,charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and/or theamphipathic nature of the residues, as long as the biological orimmunological activity of GOLY is retained. For example, negativelycharged amino acids may include aspartic acid and glutamic acid,positively charged amino acids may include lysine and arginine, andamino acids with uncharged polar head groups having similarhydrophilicity values may include leucine, isoleucine, and valine;glycine and alanine; asparagine and glutamine; serine and threonine; andphenylalanine and tyrosine.

[0032] The terms “amino acid” or “amino acid sequence” refer to anoligopeptide, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence, or a fragmentof any of these, and to naturally occurring or synthetic molecules. Inthis context, “fragments,” “immunogenic fragments,” or “antigenicfragments” refer to fragments of GOLY which are preferably at least 5 toabout 15 amino acids in length, most preferably at least 14 amino acids,and which retain some biological activity or immunological activity ofGOLY. Where “amino acid sequence” refers to an amino acid sequence of anaturally occurring protein molecule, “amino acid sequence” and liketerms are not meant to limit the amino acid sequence to the completenative amino acid sequence associated with the recited protein molecule.

[0033] “Amplification” relates to the production of additional copies ofa nucleic acid sequence. Amplification is generally carried out usingpolymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies well known in the art.

[0034] The term “antagonist” refers to a molecule which, when bound toGOLY, decreases the amount or the duration of the effect of thebiological or immunological activity of GOLY. Antagonists may includeproteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, antibodies, or any othermolecules which decrease the effect of GOLY.

[0035] The term “antibody” refers to intact molecules as well as tofragments thereof, such as Fab, F(ab′)₂, and Fv fragments, which arecapable of binding the epitopic determinant. Antibodies that bind GOLYpolypeptides can be prepared using intact polypeptides or usingfragments containing small peptides of interest as the immunizingantigen. The polypeptide or oligopeptide used to immunize an animal(e.g., a mouse, a rat, or a rabbit) can be derived from the translationof RNA, or synthesized chemically, and can be conjugated to a carrierprotein if desired. Commonly used carriers that are chemically coupledto peptides include bovine serum albumin, thyroglobulin, and keyholelimpet hemocyanin (KLH). The coupled peptide is then used to immunizethe animal.

[0036] The term “antigenic determinant” refers to that fragment of amolecule (i.e., an epitope) that makes contact with a particularantibody. When a protein or a fragment of a protein is used to immunizea host animal, numerous regions of the protein may induce the productionof antibodies which bind specifically to antigenic determinants (givenregions or three-dimensional structures on the protein). An antigenicdeterminant may compete with the intact antigen (i.e., the immunogenused to elicit the immune response) for binding to an antibody.

[0037] The term “antisense” refers to any composition containing anucleic acid sequence which is complementary to the “sense” strand of aspecific nucleic acid sequence. Antisense molecules may be produced byany method including synthesis or transcription. Once introduced into acell, the complementary nucleotides combine with natural sequencesproduced by the cell to form duplexes and to block either transcriptionor translation. The designation “negative” can refer to the antisensestrand, and the designation “positive” can refer to the sense strand.

[0038] The term “biologically active,” refers to a protein havingstructural, regulatory, or biochemical functions of a naturallyoccurring molecule. Likewise, “immunologically active” refers to thecapability of the natural, recombinant, or synthetic GOLY, or of anyoligopeptide thereof, to induce a specific immune response inappropriate animals or cells and to bind with specific antibodies.

[0039] The terms “complementary” or “complementarity” refer to thenatural binding of polynucleotides by base pairing. For example, thesequence “5′ A-G-T 3′” binds to the complementary sequence “3′ T-C-A5′.” Complementarity between two single-stranded molecules may be“partial,” such that only some of the nucleic acids bind, or it may be“complete,” such that total complementarity exists between the singlestranded molecules. The degree of complementarity between nucleic acidstrands has significant effects on the efficiency and strength of thehybridization between the nucleic acid strands. This is of particularimportance in amplification reactions, which depend upon binding betweennucleic acids strands, and in the design and use of peptide nucleic acid(PNA) molecules.

[0040] A “composition comprising a given polynucleotide sequence” or a“composition comprising a given amino acid sequence” refer broadly toany composition containing the given polynucleotide or amino acidsequence. The composition may comprise a dry formulation or an aqueoussolution. Compositions comprising polynucleotide sequences encoding GOLYor fragments of GOLY may be employed as hybridization probes. The probesmay be stored in freeze-dried form and may be associated with astabilizing agent such as a carbohydrate. In hybridizations, the probemay be deployed in an aqueous solution containing salts, e.g., NaCl,detergents, e.g., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and other components,e.g., Denhardt's solution, dry milk, salmon sperm DNA, etc.

[0041] “Consensus sequence” refers to a nucleic acid sequence which hasbeen resequenced to resolve uncalled bases, extended using XL-PCR kit(Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) in the 5′ and/or the 3′direction, and resequenced, or which has been assembled from theoverlapping sequences of more than one Incyte Clone using a computerprogram for fragment assembly, such as the GELVIEW fragment assemblysystem (GCG, Madison, Wis.). Some sequences have been both extended andassembled to produce the consensus sequence.

[0042] The term “correlates with expression of a polynucleotide”indicates that the detection of the presence of nucleic acids, the sameor related to a nucleic acid sequence encoding GOLY, by Northernanalysis is indicative of the presence of nucleic acids encoding GOLY ina sample, and thereby correlates with expression of the transcript fromthe polynucleotide encoding GOLY.

[0043] A “deletion” refers to a change in the amino acid or nucleotidesequence that results in the absence of one or more amino acid residuesor nucleotides.

[0044] The term “derivative” refers to the chemical modification of apolypeptide sequence, or a polynucleotide sequence. Chemicalmodifications of a polynucleotide sequence can include, for example,replacement of hydrogen by an alkyl, acyl, or amino group. A derivativepolynucleotide encodes a polypeptide which retains at least onebiological or immunological function of the natural molecule. Aderivative polypeptide is one modified by glycosylation, pegylation, orany similar process that retains at least one biological orimmunological function of the polypeptide from which it was derived.

[0045] The term “similarity” refers to a degree of complementarity.There may be partial similarity or complete similarity. The word“identity” may substitute for the word “similarity.” A partiallycomplementary sequence that at least partially inhibits an identicalsequence from hybridizing to a target nucleic acid is referred to as“substantially similar.” The inhibition of hybridization of thecompletely complementary sequence to the target sequence may be examinedusing a hybridization assay (Southern or Northern blot, solutionhybridization, and the like) under conditions of reduced stringency. Asubstantially similar sequence or hybridization probe will compete forand inhibit the binding of a completely similar (identical) sequence tothe target sequence under conditions of reduced stringency. This is notto say that conditions of reduced stringency are such that non-specificbinding is permitted, as reduced stringency conditions require that thebinding of two sequences to one another be a specific (i.e., aselective) interaction. The absence of non-specific binding may betested by the use of a second target sequence which lacks even a partialdegree of complementarity (e.g., less than about 30% similarity oridentity). In the absence of non-specific binding, the substantiallysimilar sequence or probe will not hybridize to the secondnon-complementary target sequence.

[0046] The phrases “percent identity” or “% identity” refer to thepercentage of sequence similarity found in a comparison of two or moreamino acid or nucleic acid sequences. Percent identity can be determinedelectronically, e.g., by using the MEGALIGN program (DNASTAR, Inc.,Madison Wis.). The MEGALIGN program can create alignments between two ormore sequences according to different methods, e.g., the clustal method.(See, e.g., Higgins, D. G. and P. M. Sharp (1988) Gene 73:237-244.) Theclustal algorithm groups sequences into clusters by examining thedistances between all pairs. The clusters are aligned pairwise and thenin groups. The percentage similarity between two amino acid sequences,e.g., sequence A and sequence B, is calculated by dividing the length ofsequence A, minus the number of gap residues in sequence A, minus thenumber of gap residues in sequence B, into the sum of the residuematches between sequence A and sequence B, times one hundred. Gaps oflow or of no similarity between the two amino acid sequences are notincluded in determining percentage similarity. Percent identity betweennucleic acid sequences can also be counted or calculated by othermethods known in the art, e.g., the Jotun Hein method. (See, e.g., Hein,J. (1990) Methods Enzymol. 183:626-645.) Identity between sequences canalso be determined by other methods known in the art, e.g., by varyinghybridization conditions.

[0047] “Human artificial chromosomes” (HACs) are linear microchromosomeswhich may contain DNA sequences of about 6 kb to 10 Mb in size, andwhich contain all of the elements required for stable mitotic chromosomesegregation and maintenance.

[0048] The term “humanized antibody” refers to antibody molecules inwhich the amino acid sequence in the non-antigen binding regions hasbeen altered so that the antibody more closely resembles a humanantibody, and still retains its original binding ability.

[0049] “Hybridization” refers to any process by which a strand ofnucleic acid bonds with a complementary strand through base pairing.

[0050] The term “hybridization complex” refers to a complex formedbetween two nucleic acid sequences by virtue of the formation ofhydrogen bonds between complementary bases. A hybridization complex maybe formed in solution (e.g., C₀t or R₀t analysis) or formed between onenucleic acid sequence present in solution and another nucleic acidsequence immobilized on a solid support (e.g., paper, membranes,filters, chips, pins or glass slides, or any other appropriate substrateto which cells or their nucleic acids have been fixed).

[0051] The words “insertion” or “addition” refer to changes in an aminoacid or nucleotide sequence resulting in the addition of one or moreamino acid residues or nucleotides, respectively, to the sequence foundin the naturally occurring molecule.

[0052] “Immune response” can refer to conditions associated withinflammation, trauma, immune disorders, or infectious or geneticdisease, etc. These conditions can be characterized by expression ofvarious factors, e.g., cytokines, chemokines, and other signalingmolecules, which may affect cellular and systemic defense systems.

[0053] The term “microarray” refers to an arrangement of distinctpolynucleotides arrayed on a substrate, e.g., paper, nylon or any othertype of membrane, filter, chip, glass slide, or any other suitable solidsupport.

[0054] The terms “element” or “array element,” in a microarray context,refer to hybridizable polynucleotides arranged on the surface of asubstrate.

[0055] The term “modulate” refers to a change in the activity of GOLY.For example, modulation may cause an increase or a decrease in proteinactivity, binding characteristics, or any other biological, functional,or immunological properties of GOLY.

[0056] The phrases “nucleic acid” or “nucleic acid sequence” refer to anucleotide, oligonucleotide, polynucleotide, or any fragment thereof.These phrases also refer to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic originwhich may be single-stranded or double-stranded and may represent thesense or the antisense strand, to peptide nucleic acid (PNA), or to anyDNA-like or RNA-like material. In this context, “fragments” refers tothose nucleic acid sequences which, when translated, would producepolypeptides retaining some functional characteristic, e.g.,antigenicity, or structural domain characteristic, e.g., ATP-bindingsite, of the full-length polypeptide.

[0057] The terms “operably associated” or “operably linked” refer tofunctionally related nucleic acid sequences. A promoter is operablyassociated or operably linked with a coding sequence if the promotercontrols the translation of the encoded polypeptide. While operablyassociated or operably linked nucleic acid sequences can be contiguousand in the same reading frame, certain genetic elements, e.g., repressorgenes, are not contiguously linked to the sequence encoding thepolypeptide but still bind to operator sequences that control expressionof the polypeptide.

[0058] The term “oligonucleotide” refers to a nucleic acid sequence ofat least about 6 nucleotides to 60 nucleotides, preferably about 15 to30 nucleotides, and most preferably about 20 to 25 nucleotides, whichcan be used in PCR amplification or in a hybridization assay ormicroarray. The term “oligonucleotide” is substantially equivalent tothe terms “amplimer,” “primer,” “oligomer,” and “probe,” as these termsare commonly defined in the art.

[0059] “Peptide nucleic acid” (PNA) refers to an antisense molecule oranti-gene agent which comprises an oligonucleotide of at least about 5nucleotides in length linked to a peptide backbone of amino acidresidues ending in lysine. The terminal lysine confers solubility to thecomposition. PNAs preferentially bind complementary single stranded DNAor RNA and stop transcript elongation, and may be pegylated to extendtheir lifespan in the cell. (See, e.g., Nielsen, P. E. et al. (1993)Anticancer Drug Des. 8:53-63.)

[0060] The term “sample” is used in its broadest sense. A biologicalsample suspected of containing nucleic acids encoding GOLY, or fragmentsthereof, or GOLY itself, may comprise a bodily fluid; an extract from acell, chromosome, organelle, or membrane isolated from a cell; a cell;genomic DNA, RNA, or cDNA, in solution or bound to a solid support; atissue; a tissue print; etc.

[0061] The terms “specific binding” or “specifically binding” refer tothat interaction between a protein or peptide and an agonist, anantibody, or an antagonist. The interaction is dependent upon thepresence of a particular structure of the protein, e.g., the antigenicdeterminant or epitope, recognized by the binding molecule. For example,if an antibody is specific for epitope “A,” the presence of apolypeptide containing the epitope A, or the presence of free unlabeledA, in a reaction containing free labeled A and the antibody will reducethe amount of labeled A that binds to the antibody.

[0062] The term “stringent conditions” refers to conditions which permithybridization between polynucleotides and the claimed polynucleotides.Stringent conditions can be defined by salt concentration, theconcentration of organic solvent, e.g., formamide, temperature, andother conditions well known in the art. In particular, stringency can beincreased by reducing the concentration of salt, increasing theconcentration of formamide, or raising the hybridization temperature.

[0063] The term “substantially purified” refers to nucleic acid or aminoacid sequences that are removed from their natural environment and areisolated or separated, and are at least about 60% free, preferably about75% free, and most preferably about 90% free from other components withwhich they are naturally associated.

[0064] A “substitution” refers to the replacement of one or more aminoacids or nucleotides by different amino acids or nucleotides,respectively.

[0065] “Transformation” describes a process by which exogenous DNAenters and changes a recipient cell. Transformation may occur undernatural or artificial conditions according to various methods well knownin the art, and may rely on any known method for the insertion offoreign nucleic acid sequences into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic hostcell. The method for transformation is selected based on the type ofhost cell being transformed and may include, but is not limited to,viral infection, electroporation, heat shock, lipofection, and particlebombardment. The term “transformed” cells includes stably transformedcells in which the inserted DNA is capable of replication either as anautonomously replicating plasmid or as part of the host chromosome, aswell as transiently transformed cells which express the inserted DNA orRNA for limited periods of time.

[0066] A “variant” of GOLY polypeptides refers to an amino acid sequencethat is altered by one or more amino acid residues. The variant may have“conservative” changes, wherein a substituted amino acid has similarstructural or chemical properties (e.g., replacement of leucine withisoleucine). More rarely, a variant may have “nonconservative” changes(e.g., replacement of glycine with tryptophan). Analogous minorvariations may also include amino acid deletions or insertions, or both.Guidance in determining which amino acid residues may be substituted,inserted, or deleted without abolishing biological or immunologicalactivity may be found using computer programs well known in the art, forexample, LASERGENE software (DNASTAR).

[0067] The term “variant,” when used in the context of a polynucleotidesequence, may encompass a polynucleotide sequence related to GOLY. Thisdefinition may also include, for example, “allelic” (as defined above),“splice,” “species,” or “polymorphic” variants. A splice variant mayhave significant identity to a reference molecule, but will generallyhave a greater or lesser number of polynucleotides due to alternatesplicing of exons during mRNA processing. The corresponding polypeptidemay possess additional functional domains or an absence of domains.Species variants are polynucleotide sequences that vary from one speciesto another. The resulting polypeptides generally will have significantamino acid identity relative to each other. A polymorphic variant is avariation in the polynucleotide sequence of a particular gene betweenindividuals of a given species. Polymorphic variants also may encompass“single nucleotide polymorphisms” (SNPs) in which the polynucleotidesequence varies by one base. The presence of SNPs may be indicative of,for example, a certain population, a disease state, or a propensity fora disease state.

[0068] The Invention

[0069] The invention is based on the discovery of a new human goose-typelysozyme (GOLY), the polynucleotides encoding GOLY, and the use of thesecompositions for the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention ofautoimmune/inflammatory, renal, and adrenal disorders and cancer.

[0070] Nucleic acids encoding the GOLY of the present invention werefirst identified in Incyte Clone 2372794 from the adrenal gland cDNAlibrary (ADRENOT07) using a computer search, e.g., BLAST, for amino acidsequence alignments. A consensus sequence, SEQ ID NO:2, was derived fromthe following overlapping and/or extended nucleic acid sequences: IncyteClones 2372794HI (ADRENOT07), 3219266H1 (COLNNON03), and 2372794F6 and2372794T6 (ADRENOT07) shown as SEQ ID NO:3-6 in the sequence.

[0071] In one embodiment, the invention encompasses a polypeptidecomprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, as shown in FIGS. 1A,1B, and 1C. GOLY is 194 amino acids in length and has two potentialcasein kinase II phosphorylation sites at residues S94 and S170; andthree potential protein kinase C phosphorylation sites at residues S54,S91, and T135. GOLY has a potential signal sequence from residue Mlthrough about residue S19. PRINTS analysis indicates that GOLY hassequence homology with the lysozyme G signature (PR00749) from residuesC24 through H44, Y48 through Q69, M72 through L90, K139 through R155,G156 through D177, and D173 through G193. As shown in FIG. 2, GOLY haschemical and structural similarity with chicken goose-type lysozyme (GI63428; SEQ ID NO:7). In particular, GOLY and chicken goose-type lysozymeshare 39% identity. GOLY and chicken goose-type lysozyme share the fourcysteines conserved in goose-type lysozymes that are proposed to formdisulfide bonds at residues C24, C38, C49, and C80 of GOLY. GOLYcontains the conserved goose-type lysozyme catalytic center asparticacid residue at D105 and has a charged residue K93 and an acidic residueQ111, at the other two catalytic center residue sites. A fragment of SEQID NO:2 from about nucleotide 431 through about 447 is useful, forexample, as a hybridization probe. Northern analysis shows theexpression of this sequence in various libraries, at least 67% of whichare immortalized or cancerous and at least 33% of which involve immuneresponse. Of particular note is the expression of GOLY in kidney,breast, adrenal gland, and colon tissues.

[0072] The invention also encompasses GOLY variants. A preferred GOLYvariant is one which has at least about 80%, more preferably at leastabout 90%, and most preferably at least about 95% amino acid sequenceidentity to the GOLY amino acid sequence, and which contains at leastone functional or structural characteristic of GOLY.

[0073] The invention also encompasses polynucleotides which encode GOLY.In a particular embodiment, the invention encompasses a polynucleotidesequence comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, which encodes an GOLY.

[0074] The invention also encompasses a variant of a polynucleotidesequence encoding GOLY. In particular, such a variant polynucleotidesequence will have at least about 70%, more preferably at least about85%, and most preferably at least about 95% polynucleotide sequenceidentity to the polynucleotide sequence encoding GOLY. A particularaspect of the invention encompasses a variant of SEQ ID NO:2 which hasat least about 70%, more preferably at least about 85%, and mostpreferably at least about 95% polynucleotide sequence identity to SEQ IDNO:2. Any one of the polynucleotide variants described above can encodean amino acid sequence which contains at least one functional orstructural characteristic of GOLY.

[0075] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that as aresult of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a multitude ofpolynucleotide sequences encoding GOLY, some bearing minimal similarityto the polynucleotide sequences of any known and naturally occurringgene, may be produced. Thus, the invention contemplates each and everypossible variation of polynucleotide sequence that could be made byselecting combinations based on possible codon choices. Thesecombinations are made in accordance with the standard triplet geneticcode as applied to the polynucleotide sequence of naturally occurringGOLY, and all such variations are to be considered as being specificallydisclosed.

[0076] Although nucleotide sequences which encode GOLY and its variantsare preferably capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence of thenaturally occurring GOLY under appropriately selected conditions ofstringency, it may be advantageous to produce nucleotide sequencesencoding GOLY possessing a substantially different codon usage, e.g.,inclusion of non-naturally occurring codons. Codons may be selected toincrease the rate at which expression of the peptide occurs in aparticular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host in accordance with thefrequency with which particular codons are utilized by the host. Otherreasons for substantially altering the nucleotide sequence encoding GOLYand its derivatives without altering the encoded amino acid sequencesinclude the production of RNA transcripts having more desirableproperties, such as a greater half-life, than transcripts produced fromthe naturally occurring sequence.

[0077] The invention also encompasses production of DNA sequences whichencode GOLY and GOLY derivatives, or fragments thereof, entirely bysynthetic chemistry. After production, the synthetic sequence may beinserted into any of the many available expression vectors and cellsystems using reagents well known in the art. Moreover, syntheticchemistry may be used to introduce mutations into a sequence encodingGOLY or any fragment thereof.

[0078] Also encompassed by the invention are polynucleotide sequencesthat are capable of hybridizing to the claimed polynucleotide sequences,and, in particular, to those shown in SEQ ID NO:2, or a fragment of SEQID NO:2, under various conditions of stringency. (See, e.g., Wahl, G. M.and S. L. Berger (1987) Methods Enzymol. 152:399407; Kimmel, A. R.(1987) Methods Enzymol. 152:507-511.) For example, stringent saltconcentration will ordinarily be less than about 750 mM NaCl and 75 mMtrisodium citrate, preferably less than about 500 mM NaCl and 50 mMtrisodium citrate, and most preferably less than about 250 mM NaCl and25 mM trisodium citrate. Low stringency hybridization can be obtained inthe absence of organic solvent, e.g., formamide, while high stringencyhybridization can be obtained in the presence of at least about 35%formamide, and most preferably at least about 50% formamide. Stringenttemperature conditions will ordinarily include temperatures of at leastabout 30° C., more preferably of at least about 37° C., and mostpreferably of at least about 42° C. Varying additional parameters, suchas hybridization time, the concentration of detergent, e.g., sodiumdodecyl sulfate (SDS), and the inclusion or exclusion of carrier DNA,are well known to those skilled in the art. Various levels of stringencyare accomplished by combining these various conditions as needed. In apreferred embodiment, hybridization will occur at 30° C. in 750 mM NaCl,75 mM trisodium citrate, and 1% SDS. In a more preferred embodiment,hybridization will occur at 37° C. in 500 mM NaCl, 50 mM trisodiumcitrate, 1% SDS, 35% formamide, and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA(ssDNA). In a most preferred embodiment, hybridization will occur at 42°C. in 250 mM NaCl, 25 mM trisodium citrate, 1% SDS, 50% formamide, and200 μg/ml ssDNA. Useful variations on these conditions will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art.

[0079] The washing steps which follow hybridization can also vary instringency. Wash stringency conditions can be defined by saltconcentration and by temperature. As above, wash stringency can beincreased by decreasing salt concentration or by increasing temperature.For example, stringent salt concentration for the wash steps willpreferably be less than about 30 mM NaCl and 3 mM trisodium citrate, andmost preferably less than about 15 mM NaCl and 1.5 mM trisodium citrate.Stringent temperature conditions for the wash steps will ordinarilyinclude temperature of at least about 25° C., more preferably of atleast about 42° C., and most preferably of at least about 68° C. In apreferred embodiment, wash steps will occur at 25° C. in 30 mM NaCl, 3mM trisodium citrate, and 0.1% SDS. In a more preferred embodiment, washsteps will occur at 42° C. in 15 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM trisodium citrate, and0.1% SDS. In a most preferred embodiment, wash steps will occur at 68°C. in 15 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM trisodium citrate, and 0.1% SDS. Additionalvariations on these conditions will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art.

[0080] Methods for DNA sequencing and analysis are well known in theart. The methods may employ such enzymes as the Klenow fragment of DNApolymerase I, T7 SEQUENASE DNA polymerase, Taq DNA polymerase,THERMOSEQUENASE DNA polymerase (all from Amersham PB, Piscataway, N.J.),or combinations of polymerases and proofreading exonucleases, such asthose found in the ELONGASE amplification system (Life Technologies,Gaithersberg, Md.). Preferably, sequence preparation is automated withmachines, e.g., the ABI CATALYST 800 system (Applied Biosystems) orMICROLAB 2200 system (Hamilton, Reno, Nev.) systems, in combination withthermal cyclers. Sequencing can also be automated, such as by ABI PRISM373 or 377 sequencing systems (PE Biosystems) or the MEGABACE 1000sequencing system (Amersham PB). Sequences can be analyzed usingcomputer programs and algorithms well known in the art. (See, e.g.,Ausubel, supra, unit 7.7; and Meyers, R. A. (1995) Molecular Biology andBiotechnology, Wiley VCH, Inc, New York, N.Y.)

[0081] The nucleic acid sequences encoding GOLY may be extendedutilizing a partial nucleotide sequence and employing various PCR-basedmethods known in the art to detect upstream sequences, such as promotersand regulatory elements. For example, one method which may be employed,restriction-site PCR, uses universal and nested primers to amplifyunknown sequence from genomic DNA within a cloning vector. (See, e.g.,Sarkar, G. (1993) PCR Methods Applic. 2:318-322.) Another method,inverse PCR, uses primers that extend in divergent directions to amplifyunknown sequence from a circularized template. The template is derivedfrom restriction fragments comprising a known genomic locus andsurrounding sequences. (See, e.g., Triglia, T. et al. (1988) NucleicAcids Res. 16:8186.) A third method, capture PCR, involves PCRamplification of DNA fragments adjacent to known sequences in human andyeast artificial chromosome DNA. (See, e.g., Lagerstrom, M. et al.(1991) PCR Methods Applic. 1:111-119.) In this method, multiplerestriction enzyme digestions and ligations may be used to insert anengineered double-stranded sequence into a region of unknown sequencebefore performing PCR. Other methods which may be used to retrieveunknown sequences are known in the art. (See, e.g., Parker, J. D. et al.(1991) Nucleic Acids Res. 19:3055-3060). Additionally, one may use PCRand nested primers to walk genomic DNA. This procedure avoids the needto screen libraries and is useful in finding intron/exon junctions. Forall PCR-based methods, primers may be designed using commerciallyavailable software, such as OLIGO 4.06 primer analysis software(National Biosciences, Plymouth, Minn.) or another appropriate program,to be about 22 to 30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content ofabout 50% or more, and to anneal to the template at temperatures ofabout 68° C. to 72° C.

[0082] When screening for full-length cDNAs, it is preferable to uselibraries that have been size-selected to include larger cDNAs. Inaddition, random-primed libraries, which often include sequencescontaining the 5′ regions of genes, are preferable for situations inwhich an oligo d(T) library does not yield a full-length cDNA. Genomiclibraries may be useful for extension of sequence into 5′non-transcribed regulatory regions.

[0083] Capillary electrophoresis systems which are commerciallyavailable may be used to analyze the size or confirm the nucleotidesequence of sequencing or PCR products. In particular, capillarysequencing may employ flowable polymers for electrophoretic separation,four different nucleotide-specific, laser-stimulated fluorescent dyes,and a charge coupled device camera for detection of the emittedwavelengths. Output/light intensity may be converted to electricalsignal using appropriate software (e.g., GENOTYPER and SEQUENCENAVIGATOR analysis software (PE Biosystems)), and the entire processfrom loading of samples to computer analysis and electronic data displaymay be computer controlled. Capillary electrophoresis is especiallypreferable for sequencing small DNA fragments which may be present inlimited amounts in a particular sample.

[0084] In another embodiment of the invention, polynucleotide sequencesor fragments thereof which encode GOLY may be cloned in recombinant DNAmolecules that direct expression of GOLY, or fragments or functionalequivalents thereof, in appropriate host cells. Due to the inherentdegeneracy of the genetic code, other DNA sequences which encodesubstantially the same or a functionally equivalent amino acid sequencemay be produced and used to express GOLY.

[0085] The nucleotide sequences of the present invention can beengineered using methods generally known in the art in order to alterGOLY-encoding sequences for a variety of purposes including, but notlimited to, modification of the cloning, processing, and/or expressionof the gene product. DNA shuffling by random fragmentation and PCRreassembly of gene fragments and synthetic oligonucleotides may be usedto engineer the nucleotide sequences. For example,oligonucleotide-mediated site-directed mutagenesis may be used tointroduce mutations that create new restriction sites, alterglycosylation patterns, change codon preference, produce splicevariants, and so forth.

[0086] In another embodiment, sequences encoding GOLY may besynthesized, in whole or in part, using chemical methods well known inthe art. (See, e.g., Caruthers, M. H. et al. (1980) Nucl. Acids Symp.Ser. (7) 215-223, and Horn, T. et al. (1980) Nucl. Acids Symp. Ser. (7)225-232.) Alternatively, GOLY itself or a fragment thereof may besynthesized using chemical methods. For example, peptide synthesis canbe performed using various solid-phase techniques. (See, e.g., Roberge,J. Y. et al. (1995) Science 269:202-204.) Automated synthesis may beachieved using the ABI 431A peptide synthesizer (PE Biosystems).Additionally, the amino acid sequence of GOLY, or any part thereof, maybe altered during direct synthesis and/or combined with sequences fromother proteins, or any part thereof, to produce a variant polypeptide.

[0087] The peptide may be substantially purified by preparative highperformance liquid chromatography. (See, e.g, Chiez, R. M. and F. Z.Regnier (1990) Methods Enzymol. 182:392-421.) The composition of thesynthetic peptides may be confirmed by amino acid analysis or bysequencing. (See, e.g., Creighton, T. (1984) Proteins, Structures andMolecular Properties, WH Freeman and Co., New York, N.Y.)

[0088] In order to express a biologically active GOLY, the nucleotidesequences encoding GOLY or derivatives thereof may be inserted into anappropriate expression vector, i.e., a vector which contains thenecessary elements for transcriptional and translational control of theinserted coding sequence in a suitable host. These elements includeregulatory sequences, such as enhancers, constitutive and induciblepromoters, and 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions in the vector and inpolynucleotide sequences encoding GOLY. Such elements may vary in theirstrength and specificity. Specific initiation signals may also be usedto achieve more efficient translation of sequences encoding GOLY. Suchsignals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences, e.g.the Kozak sequence. In cases where sequences encoding GOLY and itsinitiation codon and upstream regulatory sequences are inserted into theappropriate expression vector, no additional transcriptional ortranslational control signals may be needed. However, in cases whereonly coding sequence, or a fragment thereof, is inserted, exogenoustranslational control signals including an in-frame ATG initiation codonshould be provided by the vector. Exogenous translational elements andinitiation codons may be of various origins, both natural and synthetic.The efficiency of expression may be enhanced by the inclusion ofenhancers appropriate for the particular host cell system used. (See,e.g., Scharf, D. et al. (1994) Results Probl. Cell Differ. 20:125-162.)

[0089] Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art may beused to construct expression vectors containing sequences encoding GOLYand appropriate transcriptional and translational control elements.These methods include in vitro recombinant DNA techniques, synthetictechniques, and in vivo genetic recombination. (See, e.g., Sambrook, J.et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring HarborPress, Plainview, N.Y., ch. 4, 8, and 16-17; and Ausubel, F. M. et al.(1995, and periodic supplements) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology,John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y., ch. 9, 13, and 16.)

[0090] A variety of expression vector/host systems may be utilized tocontain and express sequences encoding GOLY. These include, but are notlimited to, microorganisms such as bacteria transformed with recombinantbacteriophage, plasmid, or cosmid DNA expression vectors; yeasttransformed with yeast expression vectors; insect cell systems infectedwith viral expression vectors (e.g., baculovirus); plant cell systemstransformed with viral expression vectors (e.g., cauliflower mosaicvirus (CaMV) or tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)) or with bacterial expressionvectors (e.g., Ti or pBR322 plasmids); or animal cell systems. Theinvention is not limited by the host cell employed.

[0091] In bacterial systems, a number of cloning and expression vectorsmay be selected depending upon the use intended for polynucleotidesequences encoding GOLY. For example, routine cloning, subcloning, andpropagation of polynucleotide sequences encoding GOLY can be achievedusing a multifunctional E. coli vector such as PBLUESCRIPT phagemid(Stratagene) or PSPORT1 plasmid (Life Technologies). Ligation ofsequences encoding GOLY into the vector's multiple cloning site disruptsthe lacZ gene, allowing a calorimetric screening procedure foridentification of transformed bacteria containing recombinant molecules.In addition, these vectors may be useful for in vitro transcription,dideoxy sequencing, single strand rescue with helper phage, and creationof nested deletions in the cloned sequence. (See, e.g., Van Heeke, G.and S. M. Schuster (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264:5503-5509.) When largequantities of GOLY are needed, e.g. for the production of antibodies,vectors which direct high level expression of GOLY may be used. Forexample, vectors containing the strong, inducible T5 or T7 bacteriophagepromoter may be used.

[0092] Yeast expression systems may be used for production of GOLY. Anumber of vectors containing constitutive or inducible promoters, suchas alpha factor, alcohol oxidase, and PGH, may be used in the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae or Pichia pastoris. In addition, such vectorsdirect either the secretion or intracellular retention of expressedproteins and enable integration of foreign sequences into the hostgenome for stable propagation. (See, e.g., Ausubel, supra; and Grant etal. (1987) Methods Enzymol. 153:516-54; Scorer, C. A. et al. (1994)Bio/Technology 12:181-184.)

[0093] Plant systems may also be used for expression of GOLY.Transcription of sequences encoding GOLY may be driven viral promoters,e.g., the 35S and 19S promoters of CaMV used alone or in combinationwith the omega leader sequence from TMV. (Takamatsu, N. (1987) EMBO J.6:307-311.) Alternatively, plant promoters such as the small subunit ofRUBISCO or heat shock promoters may be used. (See, e.g., Coruzzi, G. etal. (1984) EMBO J. 3:1671-1680; Broglie, R. et al. (1984) Science224:838-843; and Winter, J. et al. (1991) Results Probl. Cell Differ.17:85-105.) These constructs can be introduced into plant cells bydirect DNA transformation or pathogen-mediated transfection. (See, e.g.,Hobbs, S. or Murry, L. E. in McGraw Hill Yearbook of Science andTechnology (1992) McGraw Hill, New York, N.Y.; pp. 191-196.)

[0094] In mammalian cells, a number of viral-based expression systemsmay be utilized. In cases where an adenovirus is used as an expressionvector, sequences encoding GOLY may be ligated into an adenovirustranscription/translation complex consisting of the late promoter andtripartite leader sequence. Insertion in a non-essential E1 or E3 regionof the viral genome may be used to obtain infective virus whichexpresses GOLY in host cells. (See, e.g., Logan, J. and T. Shenk (1984)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 81:3655-3659.) In addition, transcriptionenhancers, such as the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer, may be used toincrease expression in mammalian host cells. SV40 or EBV-based vectorsmay also be used for high-level protein expression.

[0095] Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) may also be employed todeliver larger fragments of DNA than can be contained in and expressedfrom a plasmid. HACs of about 6 kb to 10 Mb are constructed anddelivered via conventional delivery methods (liposomes, polycationicamino polymers, or vesicles) for therapeutic purposes. (See, e.g.,Harrington, J. J. et al. (1997) Nature Genet. 15:345-355.)

[0096] For long term production of recombinant proteins in mammaliansystems, stable expression of GOLY in cell lines is preferred. Forexample, sequences encoding GOLY can be transformed into cell linesusing expression vectors which may contain viral origins of replicationand/or endogenous expression elements and a selectable marker gene onthe same or on a separate vector. Following the introduction of thevector, cells may be allowed to grow for about 1 to 2 days in enrichedmedia before being switched to selective media. The purpose of theselectable marker is to confer resistance to a selective agent, and itspresence allows growth and recovery of cells which successfully expressthe introduced sequences. Resistant clones of stably transformed cellsmay be propagated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to thecell type.

[0097] Any number of selection systems may be used to recovertransformed cell lines. These include, but are not limited to, theherpes simplex virus thymidine kinase and adeninephosphoribosyltransferase genes, for use in tk⁻ or apr⁻ cells,respectively. (See, e.g., Wigler, M. et al. (1977) Cell 11:223-232; andLowy, I. et al. (1980) Cell 22:817-823.) Also, antimetabolite,antibiotic, or herbicide resistance can be used as the basis forselection. For example, dhfr confers resistance to methotrexate; neoconfers resistance to the aminoglycosides, neomycin and G-418; and alsor pat confer resistance to chlorsulfuron and phosphinotricinacetyltransferase, respectively. (See, e.g., Wigler, M. et al. (1980)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 77:3567-3570; Colbere-Garapin, F. et al (1981) J.Mol. Biol. 150:1-14; and Murry, supra.) Additional selectable genes havebeen described, e.g., trpB and hisD, which alter cellular requirementsfor metabolites. (See, e.g., Hartman, S. C. and R. C. Mulligan (1988)Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:8047-8051.) Visible markers, e.g.,anthocyanins, green fluorescent proteins (GFP) (Clontech, Palo Alto,Calif.), δ glucuronidase and its substrate β-D-glucuronoside, orluciferase and its substrate luciferin may be used. These markers can beused not only to identify transformants, but also to quantify the amountof transient or stable protein expression attributable to a specificvector system. (See, e.g., Rhodes, C. A. et al. (1995) Methods Mol.Biol. 55:121-131.)

[0098] Although the presence/absence of marker gene expression suggeststhat the gene of interest is also present, the presence and expressionof the gene may need to be confirmed. For example, if the sequenceencoding GOLY is inserted within a marker gene sequence, transformedcells containing sequences encoding GOLY can be identified by theabsence of marker gene function. Alternatively, a marker gene can beplaced in tandem with a sequence encoding GOLY under the control of asingle promoter. Expression of the marker gene in response to inductionor selection usually indicates expression of the tandem gene as well.

[0099] In general, host cells that contain the nucleic acid sequenceencoding GOLY and that express GOLY may be identified by a variety ofprocedures known to those of skill in the art. These procedures include,but are not limited to, DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridizations, PCRamplification, and protein bioassay or immunoassay techniques whichinclude membrane, solution, or chip based technologies for the detectionand/or quantification of nucleic acid or protein sequences.

[0100] Immunological methods for detecting and measuring the expressionof GOLY using either specific polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies areknown in the art. Examples of such techniques include enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISAs), radioimmunoassays (RIAs), andfluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). A two-site, monoclonal-basedimmunoassay utilizing monoclonal antibodies reactive to twonon-interfering epitopes on GOLY is preferred, but a competitive bindingassay may be employed. These and other assays are well known in the art.(See, e.g., Hampton, R. et al. (1990) Serological Methods, a LaboratoryManual, APS Press, St Paul, Minn., Section IV; Coligan, J. E. et al.(1997 and periodic supplements) Current Protocols in Immunology, GreenePub. Associates and Wiley-Interscience, New York, N.Y.; and Maddox, D.E. et al. (1983) J. Exp. Med. 158:1211-1216).

[0101] A wide variety of labels and conjugation techniques are known bythose skilled in the art and may be used in various nucleic acid andamino acid assays. Means for producing labeled hybridization or PCRprobes for detecting sequences related to polynucleotides encoding GOLYinclude oligolabeling, nick translation, end-labeling, or PCRamplification using a labeled nucleotide. Alternatively, the sequencesencoding GOLY, or any fragments thereof, may be cloned into a vector forthe production of an mRNA probe. Such vectors are known in the art, arecommercially available, and may be used to synthesize RNA probes invitro by addition of an appropriate RNA polymerase such as T7, T3, orSP6 and labeled nucleotides. These procedures may be conducted using avariety of commercially available kits, such as those provided byAmersham PB and Promega (Madison, Wis.). Suitable reporter molecules orlabels which may be used for ease of detection include radionuclides,enzymes, fluorescent, chemiluminescent, or chromogenic agents, as wellas substrates, cofactors, inhibitors, magnetic particles, and the like.

[0102] Host cells transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding GOLYmay be cultured under conditions suitable for the expression andrecovery of the protein from cell culture. The protein produced by atransformed cell may be secreted or retained intracellularly dependingon the sequence and/or the vector used. As will be understood by thoseof skill in the art, expression vectors containing polynucleotides whichencode GOLY may be designed to contain signal sequences which directsecretion of GOLY through a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane.

[0103] In addition, a host cell strain may be chosen for its ability tomodulate expression of the inserted sequences or to process theexpressed protein in the desired fashion. Such modifications of thepolypeptide include, but are not limited to, acetylation, carboxylation,glycosylation, phosphorylation, lipidation, and acylation.Post-translational processing which cleaves a “prepro” form of theprotein may also be used to specify protein targeting, folding, and/oractivity. Different host cells which have specific cellular machineryand characteristic mechanisms for post-translational activities (e.g.,CHO, HeLa, MDCK, HEK293, and W138), are available from the American TypeCulture Collection (ATCC, Manassas Va.) and may be chosen to ensure thecorrect modification and processing of the foreign protein.

[0104] In another embodiment of the invention, natural, modified, orrecombinant nucleic acid sequences encoding GOLY may be ligated to aheterologous sequence resulting in translation of a fusion protein inany of the aforementioned host systems. For example, a chimeric GOLYprotein containing a heterologous moiety that can be recognized by acommercially available antibody may facilitate the screening of peptidelibraries for inhibitors of GOLY activity. Heterologous protein andpeptide moieties may also facilitate purification of fusion proteinsusing commercially available affinity matrices. Such moieties include,but are not limited to, glutathione S-transferase (GST), maltose bindingprotein (MBP), thioredoxin (Trx), calmodulin binding peptide (CBP),6-His, FLAG, c-myc, and hemagglutinin (HA). GST, MBP, Trx, CBP, and6-His enable purification of their cognate fusion proteins onimmobilized glutathione, maltose, phenylarsine oxide, calmodulin, andmetal-chelate resins, respectively. FLAG, c-myc, and hemagglutinin (HA)enable immunoaffinity purification of fusion proteins using commerciallyavailable monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies that specificallyrecognize these epitope tags. A fusion protein may also be engineered tocontain a proteolytic cleavage site located between the GOLY encodingsequence and the heterologous protein sequence, so that GOLY may becleaved away from the heterologous moiety following purification.Methods for fusion protein expression and purification are discussed inAusubel, F. M. et al. (1995 and periodic supplements) Current Protocolsin Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y., ch 10. Avariety of commercially available kits may also be used to facilitateexpression and purification of fusion proteins.

[0105] In a further embodiment of the invention, synthesis ofradiolabeled GOLY may be achieved in vitro using the TNT rabbitreticulocyte lysate or wheat germ extract systems (Promega). Thesesystems couple transcription and translation of protein-coding sequencesoperably associated with the T7, T3, or SP6 promoters. Translation takesplace in the presence of a radiolabeled amino acid precursor, preferably³⁵S-methionine.

[0106] Fragments of GOLY may be produced not only by recombinantproduction, but also by direct peptide synthesis using solid-phasetechniques. (See, e.g., Creighton, supra pp. 55-60.) Protein synthesismay be performed by manual techniques or by automation. Automatedsynthesis may be achieved, for example, using the ABI 431A peptidesynthesizer (Applied Biosystems). Various fragments of GOLY may besynthesized separately and then combined to produce the full lengthmolecule.

Therapeutics

[0107] Chemical and structural similarity, e.g., in the context ofsequences and motifs, exists between GOLY and goose-type lysozyme fromchicken (GI 63428). In addition, GOLY is expressed in cancerous,inflamed, kidney, breast, adrenal gland, colon, and nervous tissues.Therefore, GOLY appears to play a role in autoimmune/inflammatory,renal, and adrenal disorders and cancer.

[0108] Therefore, in one embodiment, GOLY or a fragment or derivativethereof may be administered to a subject to treat or prevent anautoimmune/inflammatory disorder. Such autoimmune/inflammatory disorderscan include, but are not limited to, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS), Addison's disease, adult respiratory distress syndrome,allergies, ankylosing spondylitis, amyloidosis, anemia, asthma,atherosclerosis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune thyroiditis,bronchitis, cholecystitis, contact dermatitis, Crohn's disease, atopicdermatitis, dermatomyositis, diabetes mellitus, emphysema, episodiclymphopenia with lymphocytotoxins, erythroblastosis fetalis, erythemanodosum, atrophic gastritis, glomerulonephritis, Goodpasture's syndrome,gout, Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, hypereosinophilia,irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis,myocardial or pericardial inflammation, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis,pancreatitis, polymyositis, psoriasis, Reiter's syndrome, rheumatoidarthritis, scleroderma, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic anaphylaxis,systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, thrombocytopenicpurpura, ulcerative colitis, uveitis, Werner syndrome, complications ofcancer, hemodialysis, and extracorporeal circulation, viral, bacterial,fungal, parasitic, protozoal, and helminthic infections, and trauma.

[0109] In another embodiment, a vector capable of expressing GOLY or afragment or derivative thereof may be administered to a subject to treator prevent an autoimmune/inflammatory disorder including, but notlimited to, those described above.

[0110] In a further embodiment, a pharmaceutical composition comprisinga substantially purified GOLY in conjunction with a suitablepharmaceutical carrier may be administered to a subject to treat orprevent an autoimmune/inflammatory disorder including, but not limitedto, those provided above.

[0111] In still another embodiment, an agonist which modulates theactivity of GOLY may be administered to a subject to treat or prevent anautoimmune/inflammatory disorder including, but not limited to, thoselisted above.

[0112] Therefore, in another embodiment, GOLY or a fragment orderivative thereof may be administered to a subject to treat or preventa renal disorder. Such renal disorders can include, but are not limitedto, renal amyloidosis, hypertension; primary aldosteronism; Addison'sdisease; renal failure; glomerulonephritis; chronic glomerulonephritis;tubulointerstitial nephritis; cystic disorders of the kidney anddysplastic malformations such as polycystic disease, renal dysplasias,and cortical or medullary cysts; inherited polycystic renal diseases(PRD) such as recessive and autosomal dominant PRD; medullary cysticdisease; medullary sponge kidney and tubular dysplasia; Alport'ssyndrome; non-renal cancers which affect renal physiology, such asbronchogenic tumors of the lungs or tumors of the basal region of thebrain; multiple myeloma; adenocarcinomas of the kidney; metastatic renalcarcinoma; nephrotoxic disorders produced by the ingestion, injection,inhalation, or absorption of any pharmaceutical, chemical, or biologicalagent such as heavy metals, all classes of antibiotics, analgesics,solvents, oxalosis-inducing agents, anticancer drugs, herbicides andpesticides, botanicals and biologicals, and antiepileptics.

[0113] In another embodiment, a vector capable of expressing GOLY or afragment or derivative thereof may be administered to a subject to treator prevent a renal disorder including, but not limited to, thosedescribed above.

[0114] In a further embodiment, a pharmaceutical composition comprisinga substantially purified GOLY in conjunction with a suitablepharmaceutical carrier may be administered to a subject to treat orprevent a renal disorder including, but not limited to, those providedabove.

[0115] In still another embodiment, an agonist which modulates theactivity of GOLY may be administered to a subject to treat or prevent arenal disorder including, but not limited to, those listed above.

[0116] Therefore, another embodiment, GOLY or a fragment or derivativethereof may be administered to a subject to treat or prevent an adrenaldisorder. Such adrenal disorders can include, but are not limited to,hyperplasia, carcinoma, or adenoma of the adrenal cortex, hypertensionassociated with alkalosis, amyloidosis, hypokalemia, Cushing's disease,Liddle's syndrome, and Arnold-Healy-Gordon syndrome, pheochromocytomatumors, and Addison's disease.

[0117] In another embodiment, a vector capable of expressing GOLY or afragment or derivative thereof may be administered to a subject to treator prevent an adrenal disorder including, but not limited to, thosedescribed above.

[0118] In a further embodiment, a pharmaceutical composition comprisinga substantially purified GOLY in conjunction with a suitablepharmaceutical carrier may be administered to a subject to treat orprevent an adrenal disorder including, but not limited to, thoseprovided above.

[0119] In still another embodiment, an agonist which modulates theactivity of GOLY may be administered to a subject to treat or prevent anadrenal disorder including, but not limited to, those listed above.

[0120] In a further embodiment, an antagonist of GOLY may beadministered to a subject to treat or prevent a cancer. Such a cancermay include, but is not limited to, adenocarcinoma, leukemia, lymphoma,melanoma, myeloma, sarcoma, teratocarcinoma, and, in particular, cancersof the adrenal gland, bladder, bone, bone marrow, brain, breast, cervix,gall bladder, ganglia, gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidney, liver,lung, muscle, ovary, pancreas, parathyroid, penis, prostate, salivaryglands, skin, spleen, testis, thymus, thyroid, and uterus. In oneaspect, an antibody which specifically binds GOLY may be used directlyas an antagonist or indirectly as a targeting or delivery mechanism forbringing a pharmaceutical agent to cells or tissue which express GOLY.

[0121] In an additional embodiment, a vector expressing the complementof the polynucleotide encoding GOLY may be administered to a subject totreat or prevent a cancer including, but not limited to, those describedabove.

[0122] In other embodiments, any of the proteins, antagonists,antibodies, agonists, complementary sequences, or vectors of theinvention may be administered in combination with other appropriatetherapeutic agents. Selection of the appropriate agents for use incombination therapy may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art,according to conventional pharmaceutical principles. The combination oftherapeutic agents may act synergistically to effect the treatment orprevention of the various disorders described above. Using thisapproach, one may be able to achieve therapeutic efficacy with lowerdosages of each agent, thus reducing the potential for adverse sideeffects.

[0123] An antagonist of GOLY may be produced using methods which aregenerally known in the art. In particular, purified GOLY may be used toproduce antibodies or to screen libraries of pharmaceutical agents toidentify those which specifically bind GOLY. Antibodies to GOLY may alsobe generated using methods that are well known in the art. Suchantibodies may include, but are not limited to, polyclonal, monoclonal,chimeric, and single chain antibodies, Fab fragments, and fragmentsproduced by a Fab expression library. Neutralizing antibodies (i.e.,those which inhibit dimer formation) are especially preferred fortherapeutic use.

[0124] For the production of polyclonal antibodies, various hostsincluding goats, rabbits, rats, mice, humans, and others may beimmunized by injection with GOLY or with any fragment or oligopeptidethereof which has immunogenic properties. Rats and mice are preferredhosts for downstream applications involving monoclonal antibodyproduction. Depending on the host species, various adjuvants may be usedto increase immunological response. Such adjuvants include, but are notlimited to, Freund's, mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide, andsurface active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols,polyanions, peptides, oil emulsions, KLH, and dinitrophenol. Amongadjuvants used in humans, BCG (bacilli Calmette-Guerin) andCorynebacterium parvum are especially preferable. (For review of methodsfor antibody production and analysis, see, e.g., Harlow, E. and Lane, D.(1988) Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory,Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)

[0125] It is preferred that the oligopeptides, peptides, or fragmentsused to induce antibodies to GOLY have an amino acid sequence consistingof at least about 5 amino acids, and, more preferably, of at least about14 amino acids. It is also preferable that these oligopeptides,peptides, or fragments are identical to a portion of the amino acidsequence of the natural protein and contain the entire amino acidsequence of a small, naturally occurring molecule. Short stretches ofGOLY amino acids may be fused with those of another protein, such asKLH, and antibodies to the chimeric molecule may be produced.

[0126] Monoclonal antibodies to GOLY may be prepared using any techniquewhich provides for the production of antibody molecules by continuouscell lines in culture. These include, but are not limited to, thehybridoma technique, the human B-cell hybridoma technique, and theEBV-hybridoma technique. (See, e.g., Kohler, G. et al. (1975) Nature256:495-497; Kozbor, D. et al. (1985) J. Immunol. Methods 81:31-42;Cote, R. J. et al. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 80:2026-2030; and Cole,S. P. et al. (1984) Mol. Cell Biol. 62:109-120.)

[0127] In addition, techniques developed for the production of “chimericantibodies,” such as the splicing of mouse antibody genes to humanantibody genes to obtain a molecule with appropriate antigen specificityand biological activity, can be used. (See, e.g., Morrison, S. L. et al.(1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 81:6851-6855; Neuberger, M. S. et al.(1984) Nature 312:604-608; and Takeda, S. et al. (1985) Nature314:452-454.) Alternatively, techniques described for the production ofsingle chain antibodies may be adapted, using methods known in the art,to produce GOLY-specific single chain antibodies. Antibodies withrelated specificity, but of distinct idiotypic composition, may begenerated by chain shuffling from random combinatorial immunoglobulinlibraries. (See, e.g., Burton D. R. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.88:10134-10137.)

[0128] Antibodies may also be produced by inducing in vivo production inthe lymphocyte population or by screening immunoglobulin libraries orpanels of highly specific binding reagents as disclosed in theliterature. (See, e.g., Orlandi, R. et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.86: 3833-3837; and Winter, G. et al. (1991) Nature 349:293-299.)

[0129] Antibody fragments which contain specific binding sites for GOLYmay also be generated. For example, such fragments include, but are notlimited to, F(ab′)2 fragments produced by pepsin digestion of theantibody molecule and Fab fragments generated by reducing the disulfidebridges of the F(ab′)2 fragments. Alternatively, Fab expressionlibraries may be constructed to allow rapid and easy identification ofmonoclonal Fab fragments with the desired specificity. (See, e.g., Huse,W. D. et al. (1989) Science 246:1275-1281.)

[0130] Various immunoassays may be used for screening to identifyantibodies having the desired specificity and minimal cross-reactivity.Numerous protocols for competitive binding or immunoradiometric assaysusing either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies with establishedspecificities are well known in the art. Such immunoassays typicallyinvolve the measurement of complex formation between GOLY and itsspecific antibody. A two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay utilizingmonoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering GOLY epitopes ispreferred, but a competitive binding assay may also be employed.(Maddox, supra.)

[0131] Various methods such as Scatchard analysis in conjunction withradioimmunoassay techniques may be used to assess the affinity ofantibodies for GOLY. Affinity is expressed as an association constant,K_(a), which is defined as the molar concentration of GOLY-antibodycomplex divided by the molar concentrations of free antigen and freeantibody under equilibrium conditions. The K_(a) determined for apreparation of polyclonal antibodies, which are heterogeneous in theiraffinities for multiple GOLY epitopes, represents the average affinity,or avidity, of the antibodies for GOLY. The K_(a) determined for apreparation of monoclonal antibodies, which are monospecific for aparticular GOLY epitope, represents a true measure of affinity.High-affinity antibody preparations with K_(a) ranging from about 10⁹ to10¹² L/mole are preferred for use in immunoassays in which theGOLY-antibody complex must withstand rigorous manipulations.Low-affinity antibody preparations with K_(a) ranging from about 10⁶ to10⁷ L/mole are preferred for use in immunopurification and similarprocedures which ultimately require dissociation of GOLY, preferably inactive form, from the antibody. (Catty, D. (1988) Antibodies, Volume I:A Practical Approach, IRL Press, Washington, D.C.; and Liddell, J. E.and Cryer, A. (1991) A Practical Guide to Monoclonal Antibodies, JohnWiley & Sons, New York, N.Y.)

[0132] The titre and avidity of polyclonal antibody preparations may befurther evaluated to determine the quality and suitability of suchpreparations for certain downstream applications. For example, apolyclonal antibody preparation containing at least 1-2 mg specificantibody/ml, preferably 5-10 mg specific antibody/ml, is preferred foruse in procedures requiring precipitation of GOLY-antibody complexes.Procedures for evaluating antibody specificity, titer, and avidity, andguidelines for antibody quality and usage in various applications, aregenerally available. (See, e.g., Catty, supra, and Coligan et al.supra.)

[0133] In another embodiment of the invention, the polynucleotidesencoding GOLY, or any fragment or complement thereof, may be used fortherapeutic purposes. In one aspect, the complement of thepolynucleotide encoding GOLY may be used in situations in which it wouldbe desirable to block the transcription of the mRNA. In particular,cells may be transformed with sequences complementary to polynucleotidesencoding GOLY. Thus, complementary molecules or fragments may be used tomodulate GOLY activity, or to achieve regulation of gene function. Suchtechnology is now well known in the art, and sense or antisenseoligonucleotides or larger fragments can be designed from variouslocations along the coding or control regions of sequences encodingGOLY.

[0134] Expression vectors derived from retroviruses, adenoviruses, orherpes or vaccinia viruses, or from various bacterial plasmids, may beused for delivery of nucleotide sequences to the targeted organ, tissue,or cell population. Methods which are well known to those skilled in theart can be used to construct vectors to express nucleic acid sequencescomplementary to the polynucleotides encoding GOLY. (See, e.g.,Sambrook, supra; and Ausubel, supra.)

[0135] Genes encoding GOLY can be turned off by transforming a cell ortissue with expression vectors which express high levels of apolynucleotide, or fragment thereof, encoding GOLY. Such constructs maybe used to introduce untranslatable sense or antisense sequences into acell. Even in the absence of integration into the DNA, such vectors maycontinue to transcribe RNA molecules until they are disabled byendogenous nucleases. Transient expression may last for a month or morewith a non-replicating vector, and may last even longer if appropriatereplication elements are part of the vector system.

[0136] As mentioned above, modifications of gene expression can beobtained by designing complementary sequences or antisense molecules(DNA, RNA, or PNA) to the control, 5′, or regulatory regions of the geneencoding GOLY. Oligonucleotides derived from the transcriptioninitiation site, e.g., between about positions −10 and +10 from thestart site, are preferred. Similarly, inhibition can be achieved usingtriple helix base-pairing methodology. Triple helix pairing is usefulbecause it causes inhibition of the ability of the double helix to opensufficiently for the binding of polymerases, transcription factors, orregulatory molecules. Recent therapeutic advances using triplex DNA havebeen described in the literature. (See, e.g., Gee, J. E. et al. (1994)in Huber, B. E. and B. I. Carr, Molecular and Immunologic Approaches,Futura Publishing Co., Mt. Kisco, N.Y., pp. 163-177.) A complementarysequence or antisense molecule may also be designed to block translationof mRNA by preventing the transcript from binding to ribosomes.

[0137] Ribozymes, enzymatic RNA molecules, may also be used to catalyzethe specific cleavage of RNA. The mechanism of ribozyme action involvessequence-specific hybridization of the ribozyme molecule tocomplementary target RNA, followed by endonucleolytic cleavage. Forexample, engineered hammerhead motif ribozyme molecules may specificallyand efficiently catalyze endonucleolytic cleavage of sequences encodingGOLY.

[0138] Specific ribozyme cleavage sites within any potential RNA targetare initially identified by scanning the target molecule for ribozymecleavage sites, including the following sequences: GUA, GUU, and GUC.Once identified, short RNA sequences of between 15 and 20ribonucleotides, corresponding to the region of the target genecontaining the cleavage site, may be evaluated for secondary structuralfeatures which may render the oligonucleotide inoperable. Thesuitability of candidate targets may also be evaluated by testingaccessibility to hybridization with complementary oligonucleotides usingribonuclease protection assays.

[0139] Complementary ribonucleic acid molecules and ribozymes of theinvention may be prepared by any method known in the art for thesynthesis of nucleic acid molecules. These include techniques forchemically synthesizing oligonucleotides such as solid phasephosphoramidite chemical synthesis. Alternatively, RNA molecules may begenerated by in vitro and in vivo transcription of DNA sequencesencoding GOLY. Such DNA sequences may be incorporated into a widevariety of vectors with suitable RNA polymerase promoters such as T7 orSP6. Alternatively, these cDNA constructs that synthesize complementaryRNA, constitutively or inducibly, can be introduced into cell lines,cells, or tissues.

[0140] RNA molecules may be modified to increase intracellular stabilityand half-life. Possible modifications include, but are not limited to,the addition of flanking sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ ends of themolecule, or the use of phosphorothioate or 2′ O-methyl rather thanphosphodiesterase linkages within the backbone of the molecule. Thisconcept is inherent in the production of PNAs and can be extended in allof these molecules by the inclusion of nontraditional bases such asinosine, queosine, and wybutosine, as well as acetyl-, methyl-, thio-,and similarly modified forms of adenine, cytidine, guanine, thymine, anduridine which are not as easily recognized by endogenous endonucleases.

[0141] Many methods for introducing vectors into cells or tissues areavailable and equally suitable for use in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo.For ex vivo therapy, vectors may be introduced into stem cells takenfrom the patient and clonally propagated for autologous transplant backinto that same patient. Delivery by transfection, by liposomeinjections, or by polycationic amino polymers may be achieved usingmethods which are well known in the art. (See, e.g., Goldman, C. K. etal. (1997) Nature Biotechnology 15:462-466.)

[0142] Any of the therapeutic methods described above may be applied toany subject in need of such therapy, including, for example, mammalssuch as dogs, cats, cows, horses, rabbits, monkeys, and most preferably,humans.

[0143] An additional embodiment of the invention relates to theadministration of a pharmaceutical or sterile composition, inconjunction with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, for any of thetherapeutic effects discussed above. Such pharmaceutical compositionsmay consist of GOLY, antibodies to GOLY, and mimetics, agonists,antagonists, or inhibitors of GOLY. The compositions may be administeredalone or in combination with at least one other agent, such as astabilizing compound, which may be administered in any sterile,biocompatible pharmaceutical carrier including, but not limited to,saline, buffered saline, dextrose, and water. The compositions may beadministered to a patient alone, or in combination with other agents,drugs, or hormones.

[0144] The pharmaceutical compositions utilized in this invention may beadministered by any number of routes including, but not limited to,oral, intravenous, intramuscular, intra-arterial, intramedullary,intrathecal, intraventricular, transdermal, subcutaneous,intraperitoneal, intranasal, enteral, topical, sublingual, or rectalmeans.

[0145] In addition to the active ingredients, these pharmaceuticalcompositions may contain suitable pharmaceutically-acceptable carrierscomprising excipients and auxiliaries which facilitate processing of theactive compounds into preparations which can be used pharmaceutically.Further details on techniques for formulation and administration may befound in the latest edition of Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences(Maack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa.).

[0146] Pharmaceutical compositions for oral administration can beformulated using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers well known in theart in dosages suitable for oral administration. Such carriers enablethe pharmaceutical compositions to be formulated as tablets, pills,dragees, capsules, liquids, gels, syrups, slurries, suspensions, and thelike, for ingestion by the patient.

[0147] Pharmaceutical preparations for oral use can be obtained throughcombining active compounds with solid excipient and processing theresultant mixture of granules (optionally, after grinding) to obtaintablets or dragee cores. Suitable auxiliaries can be added, if desired.Suitable excipients include carbohydrate or protein fillers, such assugars, including lactose, sucrose, mannitol, and sorbitol; starch fromcorn, wheat, rice, potato, or other plants; cellulose, such as methylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl-cellulose, or sodiumcarboxymethylcellulose; gums, including arabic and tragacanth; andproteins, such as gelatin and collagen. If desired, disintegrating orsolubilizing agents may be added, such as the cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, agar, and alginic acid or a salt thereof, such as sodiumalginate.

[0148] Dragee cores may be used in conjunction with suitable coatings,such as concentrated sugar solutions, which may also contain gum arabic,talc, polyvinylpyrrolidone, carbopol gel, polyethylene glycol, and/ortitanium dioxide, lacquer solutions, and suitable organic solvents orsolvent mixtures. Dyestuffs or pigments may be added to the tablets ordragee coatings for product identification or to characterize thequantity of active compound, i.e., dosage.

[0149] Pharmaceutical preparations which can be used orally includepush-fit capsules made of gelatin, as well as soft, sealed capsules madeof gelatin and a coating, such as glycerol or sorbitol. Push-fitcapsules can contain active ingredients mixed with fillers or binders,such as lactose or starches, lubricants, such as talc or magnesiumstearate, and, optionally, stabilizers. In soft capsules, the activecompounds may be dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids, such asfatty oils, liquid, or liquid polyethylene glycol with or withoutstabilizers.

[0150] Pharmaceutical formulations suitable for parenteraladministration may be formulated in aqueous solutions, preferably inphysiologically compatible buffers such as Hanks' solution, Ringer'ssolution, or physiologically buffered saline. Aqueous injectionsuspensions may contain substances which increase the viscosity of thesuspension, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sorbitol, ordextran. Additionally, suspensions of the active compounds may beprepared as appropriate oily injection suspensions. Suitable lipophilicsolvents or vehicles include fatty oils, such as sesame oil, orsynthetic fatty acid esters, such as ethyl oleate, triglycerides, orliposomes. Non-lipid polycationic amino polymers may also be used fordelivery. Optionally, the suspension may also contain suitablestabilizers or agents to increase the solubility of the compounds andallow for the preparation of highly concentrated solutions.

[0151] For topical or nasal administration, penetrants appropriate tothe particular barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Suchpenetrants are generally known in the art.

[0152] The pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may bemanufactured in a manner that is known in the art, e.g., by means ofconventional mixing, dissolving, granulating, dragee-making, levigating,emulsifying, encapsulating, entrapping, or lyophilizing processes.

[0153] The pharmaceutical composition may be provided as a salt and canbe formed with many acids, including but not limited to, hydrochloric,sulfuric, acetic, lactic, tartaric, malic, and succinic acid. Salts tendto be more soluble in aqueous or other protonic solvents than are thecorresponding free base forms. In other cases, the preferred preparationmay be a lyophilized powder which may contain any or all of thefollowing: 1 mM to 50 mM histidine, 0.1% to 2% sucrose, and 2% to 7%mannitol, at a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5, that is combined with bufferprior to use.

[0154] After pharmaceutical compositions have been prepared, they can beplaced in an appropriate container and labeled for treatment of anindicated condition. For administration of GOLY, such labeling wouldinclude amount, frequency, and method of administration.

[0155] Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for use in the inventioninclude compositions wherein the active ingredients are contained in aneffective amount to achieve the intended purpose. The determination ofan effective dose is well within the capability of those skilled in theart.

[0156] For any compound, the therapeutically effective dose can beestimated initially either in cell culture assays, e.g., of neoplasticcells or in animal models such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, or pigs. Ananimal model may also be used to determine the appropriate concentrationrange and route of administration. Such information can then be used todetermine useful doses and routes for administration in humans.

[0157] A therapeutically effective dose refers to that amount of activeingredient, for example GOLY or fragments thereof, antibodies of GOLY,and agonists, antagonists or inhibitors of GOLY, which ameliorates thesymptoms or condition. Therapeutic efficacy and toxicity may bedetermined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in cell cultures orwith experimental animals, such as by calculating the ED₅₀ (the dosetherapeutically effective in 50% of the population) or LD₅₀ (the doselethal to 50% of the population) statistics. The dose ratio of toxic totherapeutic effects is the therapeutic index, and it can be expressed asthe LD₅₀/ED₅₀ ratio. Pharmaceutical compositions which exhibit largetherapeutic indices are preferred. The data obtained from cell cultureassays and animal studies are used to formulate a range of dosage forhuman use. The dosage contained in such compositions is preferablywithin a range of circulating concentrations that includes the ED₅₀ withlittle or no toxicity. The dosage varies within this range dependingupon the dosage form employed, the sensitivity of the patient, and theroute of administration.

[0158] The exact dosage will be determined by the practitioner, in lightof factors related to the subject requiring treatment. Dosage andadministration are adjusted to provide sufficient levels of the activemoiety or to maintain the desired effect. Factors which may be takeninto account include the severity of the disease state, the generalhealth of the subject, the age, weight, and gender of the subject, timeand frequency of administration, drug combination(s), reactionsensitivities, and response to therapy. Long-acting pharmaceuticalcompositions may be administered every 3 to 4 days, every week, orbiweekly depending on the half-life and clearance rate of the particularformulation.

[0159] Normal dosage amounts may vary from about 0.1 μg to 100,000 μg,up to a total dose of about 1 gram, depending upon the route ofadministration. Guidance as to particular dosages and methods ofdelivery is provided in the literature and generally available topractitioners in the art. Those skilled in the art will employ differentformulations for nucleotides than for proteins or their inhibitors.Similarly, delivery of polynucleotides or polypeptides will be specificto particular cells, conditions, locations, etc.

Diagnostics

[0160] In another embodiment, antibodies which specifically bind GOLYmay be used for the diagnosis of disorders characterized by expressionof GOLY, or in assays to monitor patients being treated with GOLY oragonists, antagonists, or inhibitors of GOLY. Antibodies useful fordiagnostic purposes may be prepared in the same manner as describedabove for therapeutics. Diagnostic assays for GOLY include methods whichutilize the antibody and a label to detect GOLY in human body fluids orin extracts of cells or tissues. The antibodies may be used with orwithout modification, and may be labeled by covalent or non-covalentattachment of a reporter molecule. A wide variety of reporter molecules,several of which are described above, are known in the art and may beused.

[0161] A variety of protocols for measuring GOLY, including ELISAs,RIAs, and FACS, are known in the art and provide a basis for diagnosingaltered or abnormal levels of GOLY expression. Normal or standard valuesfor GOLY expression are established by combining body fluids or cellextracts taken from normal mammalian subjects, preferably human, withantibody to GOLY under conditions suitable for complex formation. Theamount of standard complex formation may be quantitated by variousmethods, preferably by photometric means. Quantities of GOLY expressedin subject, control, and disease samples from biopsied tissues arecompared with the standard values. Deviation between standard andsubject values establishes the parameters for diagnosing disease.

[0162] In another embodiment of the invention, the polynucleotidesencoding GOLY may be used for diagnostic purposes. The polynucleotideswhich may be used include oligonucleotide sequences, complementary RNAand DNA molecules, and PNAs. The polynucleotides may be used to detectand quantitate gene expression in biopsied tissues in which expressionof GOLY may be correlated with disease. The diagnostic assay may be usedto determine absence, presence, and excess expression of GOLY, and tomonitor regulation of GOLY levels during therapeutic intervention.

[0163] In one aspect, hybridization with PCR probes which are capable ofdetecting polynucleotide sequences, including genomic sequences,encoding GOLY or closely related molecules may be used to identifynucleic acid sequences which encode GOLY. The specificity of the probe,whether it is made from a highly specific region, e.g., the 5′regulatory region, or from a less specific region, e.g., a conservedmotif, and the stringency of the hybridization or amplification(maximal, high, intermediate, or low), will determine whether the probeidentifies only naturally occurring sequences encoding GOLY, allelicvariants, or related sequences.

[0164] Probes may also be used for the detection of related sequences,and should preferably have at least 50% sequence identity to any of theGOLY encoding sequences. The hybridization probes of the subjectinvention may be DNA or RNA and may be derived from the sequence of SEQID NO:2 or from genomic sequences including promoters, enhancers, andintrons of the GOLY gene.

[0165] Means for producing specific hybridization probes for DNAsencoding GOLY include the cloning of polynucleotide sequences encodingGOLY or GOLY derivatives into vectors for the production of mRNA probes.Such vectors are known in the art, are commercially available, and maybe used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by means of the addition ofthe appropriate RNA polymerases and the appropriate labeled nucleotides.Hybridization probes may be labeled by a variety of reporter groups, forexample, by radionuclides such as ³²P or ³⁵S, or by enzymatic labels,such as alkaline phosphatase coupled to the probe via avidin/biotincoupling systems, and the like.

[0166] Polynucleotide sequences encoding GOLY may be used for thediagnosis of a disorder associated with expression of GOLY. Examples ofsuch a disorder include, but are not limited to, autoimmune/inflammatorydisorders such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Addison'sdisease, adult respiratory distress syndrome, allergies, ankylosingspondylitis, amyloidosis, anemia, asthma, atherosclerosis, autoimmunehemolytic anemia, autoimmune thyroiditis, bronchitis, cholecystitis,contact dermatitis, Crohn's disease, atopic dermatitis, dermatomyositis,diabetes mellitus, emphysema, episodic lymphopenia withlymphocytotoxins, erythroblastosis fetalis, erythema nodosum, atrophicgastritis, glomerulonephritis, Goodpasture's syndrome, gout, Graves'disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, hypereosinophilia, irritable bowelsyndrome, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, myocardial orpericardial inflammation, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, pancreatitis,polymyositis, psoriasis, Reiter's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis,scleroderma, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic anaphylaxis, systemic lupuserythematosus, systemic sclerosis, thrombocytopenic purpura, ulcerativecolitis, uveitis, Werner syndrome, complications of cancer,hemodialysis, and extracorporeal circulation, viral, bacterial, fungal,parasitic, protozoal, and helminthic infections, and trauma; renaldisorders such as renal amyloidosis, hypertension; primaryaldosteronism; Addison's disease; renal failure; glomerulonephritis;chronic glomerulonephritis; tubulointerstitial nephritis; cysticdisorders of the kidney and dysplastic malformations such as polycysticdisease, renal dysplasias, and cortical or medullary cysts; inheritedpolycystic renal diseases (PRD) such as recessive and autosomal dominantPRD; medullary cystic disease; medullary sponge kidney and tubulardysplasia; Alport's syndrome; non-renal cancers which affect renalphysiology, such as bronchogenic tumors of the lungs or tumors of thebasal region of the brain; multiple myeloma; adenocarcinomas of thekidney; metastatic renal carcinoma; nephrotoxic disorders produced bythe ingestion, injection, inhalation, or absorption of anypharmaceutical, chemical, or biological agent such as heavy metals, allclasses of antibiotics, analgesics, solvents, oxalosis-inducing agents,anticancer drugs, herbicides and pesticides, botanicals and biologicals,and antiepileptics; adrenal disorders such as hyperplasia, carcinoma, oradenoma of the adrenal cortex, hypertension associated with alkalosis,amyloidosis, hypokalemia, Cushing's disease, Liddle's syndrome, andArnold-Healy-Gordon syndrome, pheochromocytoma tumors, and Addison'sdisease; and cancers such as adenocarcinoma, leukemia, lymphoma,melanoma, myeloma, sarcoma, teratocarcinoma, and, in particular, cancersof the adrenal gland, bladder, bone, bone marrow, brain, breast, cervix,gall bladder, ganglia, gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidney, liver,lung, muscle, ovary, pancreas, parathyroid, penis, prostate, salivaryglands, skin, spleen, testis, thymus, thyroid, and uterus. Thepolynucleotide sequences encoding GOLY may be used in Southern orNorthern analysis, dot blot, or other membrane-based technologies; inPCR technologies; in dipstick, pin, and ELISA-like assays; and inmicroarrays utilizing fluids or tissues from patients to detect alteredGOLY expression. Such qualitative or quantitative methods are well knownin the art.

[0167] In a particular aspect, the nucleotide sequences encoding GOLYmay be useful in assays that detect the presence of associateddisorders, particularly those mentioned above. The nucleotide sequencesencoding GOLY may be labeled by standard methods and added to a fluid ortissue sample from a patient under conditions suitable for the formationof hybridization complexes. After a suitable incubation period, thesample is washed and the signal is quantitated and compared with astandard value. If the amount of signal in the patient sample issignificantly altered in comparison to a control sample then thepresence of altered levels of nucleotide sequences encoding GOLY in thesample indicates the presence of the associated disorder. Such assaysmay also be used to evaluate the efficacy of a particular therapeutictreatment regimen in animal studies, in clinical trials, or to monitorthe treatment of an individual patient.

[0168] In order to provide a basis for the diagnosis of a disorderassociated with expression of GOLY, a normal or standard profile forexpression is established. This may be accomplished by combining bodyfluids or cell extracts taken from normal subjects, either animal orhuman, with a sequence, or a fragment thereof, encoding GOLY, underconditions suitable for hybridization or amplification. Standardhybridization may be quantified by comparing the values obtained fromnormal subjects with values from an experiment in which a known amountof a substantially purified polynucleotide is used. Standard valuesobtained in this manner may be compared with values obtained fromsamples from patients who are symptomatic for a disorder. Deviation fromstandard values is used to establish the presence of a disorder.

[0169] Once the presence of a disorder is established and a treatmentprotocol is initiated, hybridization assays may be repeated on a regularbasis to determine if the level of expression in the patient begins toapproximate that which is observed in the normal subject. The resultsobtained from successive assays may be used to show the efficacy oftreatment over a period ranging from several days to months.

[0170] With respect to cancer, the presence of a relatively high amountof transcript in biopsied tissue from an individual may indicate apredisposition for the development of the disease, or may provide ameans for detecting the disease prior to the appearance of actualclinical symptoms. A more definitive diagnosis of this type may allowhealth professionals to employ preventative measures or aggressivetreatment earlier thereby preventing the development or furtherprogression of the cancer.

[0171] Additional diagnostic uses for oligonucleotides designed from thesequences encoding GOLY may involve the use of PCR. These oligomers maybe chemically synthesized, generated enzymatically, or produced invitro. Oligomers will preferably contain a fragment of a polynucleotideencoding GOLY, or a fragment of a polynucleotide complementary to thepolynucleotide encoding GOLY, and will be employed under optimizedconditions for identification of a specific gene or condition. Oligomersmay also be employed under less stringent conditions for detection orquantitation of closely related DNA or RNA sequences.

[0172] Methods which may also be used to quantitate the expression ofGOLY include radiolabeling or biotinylating nucleotides, coamplificationof a control nucleic acid, and interpolating results from standardcurves. (See, e.g., Melby, P. C. et al. (1993) J. Immunol. Methods159:235-244; and Duplaa, C. et al. (1993) Anal. Biochem. 212:229-236.)The speed of quantitation of multiple samples may be accelerated byrunning the assay in an ELISA-like format where the oligomer of interestis presented in various dilutions and a spectrophotometric orcolorimetric response gives rapid quantitation.

[0173] In further embodiments, oligonucleotides or longer fragmentsderived from any of the polynucleotide sequences described herein may beused as targets in a microarray. The microarray can be used to monitorthe expression level of large numbers of genes simultaneously and toidentify genetic variants, mutations, and polymorphisms. Thisinformation may be used to determine gene function, to understand thegenetic basis of a disorder, to diagnose a disorder, and to develop andmonitor the activities of therapeutic agents.

[0174] Microarrays may be prepared, used, and analyzed using methodsknown in the art. (See, e.g., Brennan, T. M. et al. (1995) U.S. Pat. No.5,474,796; Schena, M. et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.93:10614-10619; Baldeschweiler et al. (1995) PCT applicationWO95/251116; Shalon, D. et al. (1995) PCT application WO95/35505;Heller, R. A. et al. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:2150-2155; andHeller, M. J. et al. (1997) U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,662.)

[0175] In another embodiment of the invention, nucleic acid sequencesencoding GOLY may be used to generate hybridization probes useful inmapping the naturally occurring genomic sequence. The sequences may bemapped to a particular chromosome, to a specific region of a chromosome,or to artificial chromosome constructions, e.g., human artificialchromosomes (HACs), yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs), bacterialartificial chromosomes (BACs), bacterial P1 constructions, or singlechromosome cDNA libraries. (See, e.g., Price, C. M. (1993) Blood Rev.7:127-134; and Trask, B. J. (1991) Trends Genet. 7:149-154.)

[0176] Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) may be correlated withother physical chromosome mapping techniques and genetic map data. (See,e.g., Heinz-Ulrich, et al. (1995) in Meyers, R. A. (ed.) MolecularBiology and Biotechnology, VCH Publishers New York, N.Y., pp. 965-968.)Examples of genetic map data can be found in various scientific journalsor at the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) site. Correlationbetween the location of the gene encoding GOLY on a physical chromosomalmap and a specific disorder, or a predisposition to a specific disorder,may help define the region of DNA associated with that disorder. Thenucleotide sequences of the invention may be used to detect differencesin gene sequences among normal, carrier, and affected individuals.

[0177] In situ hybridization of chromosomal preparations and physicalmapping techniques, such as linkage analysis using establishedchromosomal markers, may be used for extending genetic maps. Often theplacement of a gene on the chromosome of another mammalian species, suchas mouse, may reveal associated markers even if the number or arm of aparticular human chromosome is not known. New sequences can be assignedto chromosomal arms by physical mapping. This provides valuableinformation to investigators searching for disease genes usingpositional cloning or other gene discovery techniques. Once the diseaseor syndrome has been crudely localized by genetic linkage to aparticular genomic region, e.g., ataxia-telangiectasia to 11q22-23, anysequences mapping to that area may represent associated or regulatorygenes for further investigation. (See, e.g., Gatti, R. A. et al. (1988)Nature 336:577-580.) The nucleotide sequence of the subject inventionmay also be used to detect differences in the chromosomal location dueto translocation, inversion, etc., among normal, carrier, or affectedindividuals.

[0178] In another embodiment of the invention, GOLY, its catalytic orimmunogenic fragments, or oligopeptides thereof can be used forscreening libraries of compounds in any of a variety of drug screeningtechniques. The fragment employed in such screening may be free insolution, affixed to a solid support, borne on a cell surface, orlocated intracellularly. The formation of binding complexes between GOLYand the agent being tested may be measured.

[0179] Another technique for drug screening provides for high throughputscreening of compounds having suitable binding affinity to the proteinof interest. (See, e.g., Geysen, et al. (1984) PCT applicationWO84/03564.) In this method, large numbers of different small testcompounds are synthesized on a solid substrate, such as plastic pins orsome other surface. The test compounds are reacted with GOLY, orfragments thereof, and washed. Bound GOLY is then detected by methodswell known in the art. Purified GOLY can also be coated directly ontoplates for use in the aforementioned drug screening techniques.Alternatively, non-neutralizing antibodies can be used to capture thepeptide and immobilize it on a solid support.

[0180] In another embodiment, one may use competitive drug screeningassays in which neutralizing antibodies capable of binding GOLYspecifically compete with a test compound for binding GOLY. In thismanner, antibodies can be used to detect the presence of any peptidewhich shares one or more antigenic determinants with GOLY.

[0181] In additional embodiments, the nucleotide sequences which encodeGOLY may be used in any molecular biology techniques that have yet to bedeveloped, provided the new techniques rely on properties of nucleotidesequences that are currently known, including, but not limited to, suchproperties as the triplet genetic code and specific base pairinteractions.

[0182] The examples below are provided to illustrate the subjectinvention and are not included for the purpose of limiting theinvention.

EXAMPLES

[0183] I. ADRENOT07 cDNA Library Construction

[0184] The ADRENOT07 cDNA library was constructed from microscopicallynormal adrenal tissues obtained from a 61-year old Caucasian female.Pathology indicated no significant abnormality of the right and leftadrenals. Patient history included the diagnosis of unspecified disorderof adrenal glands, depressive disorder, benign hypertension, vocal cordparalysis, hemiplegia, subarachnoid hemorrhage, communicatinghydrocephalus, and neoplasm of uncertain behavior of pituitary gland andcraniopharyngeal duct. Family history included malignant prostateneoplasm and malignant colon neoplasm.

[0185] The frozen tissue was homogenized and lysed using a POLYTRONhomogenizer (PT-3000; Brinkmann Instruments, Westbury, N.Y.) inguanidinium isothiocyanate solution. The lysate was centrifuged over a5.7 M CsCl cushion using a Beckman SW28 rotor in a Beckman L8-70MUltracentrifuge (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, Calif.) for 18 hours at25,000 rpm at ambient temperature. The RNA was extracted with acidphenol pH 4.7, precipitated using 0.3 M sodium acetate and 2.5 volumesof ethanol, resuspended in RNAse-free water, and treated with DNase at37° C. The RNA extraction and precipitation were repeated as before. ThemRNA was isolated with the OLIGOTEX kit (Qiagen, Carlsbad, Calif.) andused to construct the cDNA library.

[0186] The mRNA was handled according to the recommended protocols inthe SUPERSCRIPT plasmid system (Life Technologies). The cDNAs werefractionated on a SEPHAROSE CL4B column (Amersham PB), and those cDNAsexceeding 400 bp were ligated into pINCY plasmid (Incyte Genomics, PaloAlto). The plasmid pINCY was subsequently transformed into DH5αcompetent cells (Life Technologies).

[0187] II. Isolation of cDNA Clones

[0188] Plasmid DNA was released from the cells and purified using theREAL Prep 96 plasmid kit (Qiagen). This kit enabled the simultaneouspurification of 96 samples in a 96-well block using multi-channelreagent dispensers. The recommended protocol was employed except for thefollowing changes: 1) the bacteria were cultured in 1 ml of sterileTerrific Broth (Life Technologies) with carbenicillin at 25 mg/l andglycerol at 0.4%; 2) after inoculation, the cultures were incubated for19 hours and at the end of incubation, the cells were lysed with 0.3 mlof lysis buffer; and 3) following isopropanol precipitation, the plasmidDNA pellet was resuspended in 0.1 ml of distilled water. After the laststep in the protocol, samples were transferred to a 96-well block forstorage at 4° C.

[0189] III. Sequencing and Analysis

[0190] The cDNAs were prepared for sequencing using either an ABICATALYST 800 (Applied Biosystems) or a MICROLAB 2200 system (Hamilton)in combination with DNA ENGINE thermal cyclers (MJ Research, Watertown,Mass.). The cDNAs were sequenced using ABI PRISM 373 or 377 sequencingsystems (Applied Biosystems) by the method of Sanger F and A. R. Coulson(1975; J. Mol. Biol. 94:441448) using standard ABI protocols, basecalling software, and kits. Alternatively, cDNAs were sequenced usingsolutions and dyes from Amersham PB. Reading frame was determined usingstandard methods (Ausubel, supra).

[0191] The cDNA sequences presented in Table 1 and the full lengthnucleotide and amino acid sequences disclosed in the Sequence Listingwere queried against databases such as GenBank primate (pri), rodent(rod), mammalian (mamp), vertebrate (vrtp), and eukaryote (eukp)databases, SwissProt, BLOCKS, and other databases which containpreviously identified and annotated motifs and sequences. Algorithmssuch as Smith Waterman which deal with primary sequence patterns andsecondary structure gap penalties (Smith, T. et al. (1992) ProteinEngineering 5:35-51) and programs and algorithms such as BLAST (BasicLocal Alignment Search Tool; Altschul, S. F. (1993) J. Mol. Evol36:290-300; and Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410), andHMM (Hidden Markov Models; Eddy, S. R. (1996) Cur. Opin. Str. Biol.6:361-365 and Sonnhammer, E. L. L. et al. (1997) Proteins 28:405-420)were used to assemble and analyze nucleotide and amino acid sequences.The databases, programs, algorithms, methods and tools are available,well known in the art, and described in Ausubel (supra, unit 7.7), inMeyers, R. A. (1995; Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Wiley VCH,Inc, New York N.Y., p 856-853), in documentation provided with software(Genetics Computer Group (GCG), Madison Wis.), and on the world wide web(www). As shown in Table 1 (below), PFAM refers to both a database(http://genome.wustl.edu/Pfam/) and an HMM search tool(http://genome.wustl.edu/eddy/cgi-bin/hmm_page.cgi).

[0192] TABLE 1 summarizes the databases and tools used to analyze GOLY.The first column of the table shows the tool, program, or algorithm; thesecond column, the database; the third column, a brief description; andthe fourth column (where applicable), scores for determining thestrength of a match between two sequences (the higher the value, themore homologous).

[0193] IV. Northern Analysis

[0194] Northern analysis is a laboratory technique used to detect thepresence of a transcript of a gene and involves the hybridization of alabeled nucleotide sequence to a membrane on which RNAs from aparticular cell type or tissue have been bound. (See, e.g., Sambrook,supra, ch. 7; and Ausubel, supra, ch. 4 and 16.)

[0195] Analogous computer techniques applying BLAST were used to searchfor identical or related molecules in nucleotide databases such asGenBank or LIFESEQ database (Incyte Genomics). This analysis is muchfaster than multiple membrane-based hybridizations. In addition, thesensitivity of the computer search can be modified to determine whetherany particular match is categorized as exact or similar.

[0196] The basis of the search is the product score, which is definedas:$\frac{\% \quad {sequence}\quad {identity} \times \% \quad {maximum}\quad {BLAST}\quad {score}}{100}$

[0197] The product score takes into account both the degree ofsimilarity between two sequences and the length of the sequence match.For example, with a product score of 40, the match will be exact withina 1% to 2% error, and, with a product score of 70, the match will beexact. Similar molecules are usually identified by selecting those whichshow product scores between 15 and 40, although lower scores mayidentify related molecules.

[0198] The results of northern analysis were reported as a list oflibraries in which the transcript encoding GOLY occurs. Abundance, thenumber of times a particular transcript is represented in a cDNAlibrary, and percent abundance, abundance divided by the total number ofsequences, were reported.

[0199] V. Extension of GOLY Encoding Polynucleotides

[0200] The full-length nucleic acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:2) was producedby extension of its component fragments as described in The Inventionsection (supra) using oligonucleotide primers designed from thosefragments. One primer was synthesized to initiate extension of anantisense polynucleotide, and the other was synthesized to initiateextension of a sense polynucleotide. Primers were used to facilitate theextension of the known sequence “outward” generating ampliconscontaining new unknown nucleotide sequence for the region of interest.The initial primers were designed from the cDNA using OLIGO 4.06software (National Biosciences), or another appropriate program, to beabout 22 to 30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of about 50%or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures of about68° C. to about 72° C. Any stretch of nucleotides which would result inhairpin structures and primer-primer dimerizations was avoided.

[0201] Selected human cDNA libraries (Life Technologies) were used toextend the sequence. If more than one extension is necessary or desired,additional sets of primers are designed to further extend the knownregion.

[0202] High fidelity amplification was obtained by following theinstructions for the XL-PCR kit (Applied Biosystems) and thoroughlymixing the enzyme and reaction mix. PCR was performed using the DNAENGINE thermal cycler (MJ Research), beginning with 40 pmol of eachprimer and the recommended concentrations of all other components of thekit, with the following parameters: Step 1 94° C. for 1 min (initialdenaturation) Step 2 65° C. for 1 min Step 3 68° C. for 6 min Step 4 94°C. for 15 sec Step 5 65° C. for 1 min Step 6 68° C. for 7 min Step 7Repeat steps 4 through 6 for an additional 15 cycles Step 8 94° C. for15 sec Step 9 65° C. for 1 min Step 10 68° C. for 7:15 min Step 11Repeat steps 8 through 10 for an additional 12 cycles Step 12 72° C. for8 min Step 13  4° C. (and holding)

[0203] A 5 μl to 10 μl aliquot of the reaction mixture was analyzed byelectrophoresis on a low concentration (about 0.6% to 0.8%) agarosemini-gel to determine which reactions were successful in extending thesequence. Bands thought to contain the largest products were excisedfrom the gel, purified using the QIAQUICK kit (Qiagen), and trimmed ofoverhangs using Klenow enzyme to facilitate religation and cloning.

[0204] After ethanol precipitation, the products were redissolved in 13μl of ligation buffer, 1 μl T4-DNA ligase (15 units) and 1 μl T4polynucleotide kinase were added, and the mixture was incubated at roomtemperature for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight at 16° C. Competent E. colicells (in 40 μl of appropriate media) were transformed with 3 μl ofligation mixture and cultured in 80 μl of SOC medium. (See, e.g.,Sambrook, supra, Appendix A, p. 2.) After incubation for one hour at 37°C., the E. coli mixture was plated on Luria Bertani (LB) agar (See,e.g., Sambrook, supra, Appendix A, p. 1) containing carbenicillin (2×carb). The following day, several colonies were randomly picked fromeach plate and cultured in 150 μl of liquid LB/2× carb medium placed inan individual well of an appropriate commercially-available sterile96-well microtiter plate. The following day, 5 μl of each overnightculture was transferred into a non-sterile 96-well plate and, afterdilution 1:10 with water, 5 μl from each sample was transferred into aPCR array.

[0205] For PCR amplification, 18 μl of concentrated PCR reaction mix(3.3×) containing 4 units of rTth DNA polymerase, a vector primer, andone or both of the gene specific primers used for the extension reactionwere added to each well. Amplification was performed using the followingconditions: Step 1 94° C. for 60 sec Step 2 94° C. for 20 sec Step 3 55°C. for 30 sec Step 4 72° C. for 90 sec Step 5 Repeat steps 2 through 4for an additional 29 cycles Step 6 72° C. for 180 sec Step 7  4° C. (andholding)

[0206] Aliquots of the PCR reactions were run on agarose gels togetherwith molecular weight markers. The sizes of the PCR products werecompared to the original partial cDNAs, and appropriate clones wereselected, ligated into plasmid, and sequenced.

[0207] In like manner, the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 is used toobtain 5′regulatory sequences using the procedure above,oligonucleotides designed for 5′ extension, and an appropriate genomiclibrary.

[0208] VI. Labeling and Use of Individual Hybridization Probes

[0209] Hybridization probes derived from SEQ ID NO:2 are employed toscreen cDNAs, genomic DNAs, or mRNAs. Although the labeling ofoligonucleotides, consisting of about 20 base pairs, is specificallydescribed, essentially the same procedure is used with larger nucleotidefragments. Oligonucleotides are designed using state-of-the-art softwaresuch as OLIGO 4.06 software (National Biosciences) and labeled bycombining 50 pmol of each oligomer, 250 μCi of [γ-³²P] adenosinetriphosphate (Amersham PB), and T4 polynucleotide kinase (NEN LifeScience Products, Boston, Mass.). The labeled oligonucleotides aresubstantially purified using a SEPHADEX G-25 superfine size exclusiondextran bead column (Amersham PB). An aliquot containing 10⁷ counts perminute of the labeled probe is used in a typical membrane-basedhybridization analysis of human genomic DNA digested with one of thefollowing endonucleases: Ase I, Bgl II, Eco RI, Pst I, XbaI, or Pvu II(NEN Life Science Products).

[0210] The DNA from each digest is fractionated on a 0.7% agarose geland transferred to nylon membranes (NYTRAN PLUS, Schleicher & Schuell,Durham, N.H.). Hybridization is carried out for 16 hours at 40° C. Toremove nonspecific signals, blots are sequentially washed at roomtemperature under increasingly stringent conditions up to 0.1× salinesodium citrate and 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate. After XOMAT AR film(Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.) is exposed to the blots to film forseveral hours, hybridization patterns are compared visually.

[0211] VII. Microarrays

[0212] A chemical coupling procedure and an ink jet device can be usedto synthesize array elements on the surface of a substrate. (See, e.g.,Baldeschweiler, supra.) An array analogous to a dot or slot blot mayalso be used to arrange and link elements to the surface of a substrateusing thermal, UV, chemical, or mechanical bonding procedures. A typicalarray may be produced by hand or using available methods and machinesand contain any appropriate number of elements. After hybridization,nonhybridized probes are removed and a scanner used to determine thelevels and patterns of fluorescence. The degree of complementarity andthe relative abundance of each probe which hybridizes to an element onthe microarray may be assessed through analysis of the scanned images.

[0213] Full-length cDNAs, Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs), or fragmentsthereof may comprise the elements of the microarray. Fragments suitablefor hybridization can be selected using software well known in the artsuch as LASERGENE software (DNASTAR). Full-length cDNAs, ESTs, orfragments thereof corresponding to one of the nucleotide sequences ofthe present invention, or selected at random from a cDNA libraryrelevant to the present invention, are arranged on an appropriatesubstrate, e.g., a glass slide. The cDNA is fixed to the slide using,e.g., UV cross-linking followed by thermal and chemical treatments andsubsequent drying. (See, e.g., Schena, M. et al. (1995) Science270:467470; and Shalon, D. et al. (1996) Genome Res. 6:639-645.)Fluorescent probes are prepared and used for hybridization to theelements on the substrate. The substrate is analyzed by proceduresdescribed above.

[0214] VIII. Complementary Polynucleotides

[0215] Sequences complementary to the GOLY-encoding sequences, or anyparts thereof, are used to detect, decrease, or inhibit expression ofnaturally occurring GOLY. Although use of oligonucleotides comprisingfrom about 15 to 30 base pairs is described, essentially the sameprocedure is used with smaller or with larger sequence fragments.Appropriate oligonucleotides are designed using OLIGO 4.06 software(National Biosciences) and the coding sequence of GOLY. To inhibittranscription, a complementary oligonucleotide is designed from the mostunique 5′ sequence and used to prevent promoter binding to the codingsequence. To inhibit translation, a complementary oligonucleotide isdesigned to prevent ribosomal binding to the GOLY-encoding transcript.

[0216] IX. Expression of GOLY

[0217] Expression and purification of GOLY is achieved using bacterialor virus-based expression systems. For expression of GOLY in bacteria,cDNA is subcloned into an appropriate vector containing an antibioticresistance gene and an inducible promoter that directs high levels ofcDNA transcription. Examples of such promoters include, but are notlimited to, the trp-lac (tac) hybrid promoter and the T5 or T7bacteriophage promoter in conjunction with the lac operator regulatoryelement. Recombinant vectors are transformed into suitable bacterialhosts, e.g., BL21(DE3). Antibiotic resistant bacteria express GOLY uponinduction with isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). Expressionof GOLY in eukaryotic cells is achieved by infecting insect or mammaliancell lines with recombinant Autographica californica nuclearpolyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV), commonly known as baculovirus. Thenonessential polyhedrin gene of baculovirus is replaced with cDNAencoding GOLY by either homologous recombination or bacterial-mediatedtransposition involving transfer plasmid intermediates. Viralinfectivity is maintained and the strong polyhedrin promoter drives highlevels of cDNA transcription. Recombinant baculovirus is used to infectSpodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells in most cases, or humanhepatocytes, in some cases. Infection of the latter requires additionalgenetic modifications to baculovirus. (See Engelhard, E. K. et al.(1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:3224-3227; Sandig, V. et al. (1996)Hum. Gene Ther. 7:1937-1945.)

[0218] In most expression systems, GOLY is synthesized as a fusionprotein with, e.g., glutathione S-transferase (GST) or a peptide epitopetag, such as FLAG or 6-His, permitting rapid, single-step,affinity-based purification of recombinant fusion protein from crudecell lysates. GST, a 26 kilodalton enzyme from Schistosoma japonicum,enables the purification of fusion proteins on immobilized glutathioneunder conditions that maintain protein activity and antigenicity(Amersham PB). Following purification, the GST moiety can beproteolytically cleaved from GOLY at specifically engineered sites.FLAG, an 8-amino acid peptide, enables immunoaffinity purification usingcommercially available monoclonal and polyclonal anti-FLAG antibodies(Eastman Kodak). 6-His, a stretch of six consecutive histidine residues,enables purification on metal-chelate resins (Qiagen). Methods forprotein expression and purification are discussed in Ausubel, F. M. etal. (1995 and periodic supplements) Current Protocols in MolecularBiology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y., ch 10, 16. Purified GOLYobtained by these methods can be used directly in the following activityassay.

[0219] X. Demonstration of GOLY Activity

[0220] GOLY activity is demonstrated by the ability to lyse Micrococcuslysodeikticus bacterial cells. (Enzymatic Assay of Lysozyme 1, SigmaAldrich, St. Louis Mo.). A 0.015% suspension of lyophilized Micrococcuslysodeikticus cells (ATCC 4698) is prepared in 66 mM potassium phosphatebuffer, pH 6.24 (Buffer A) at 25° C. 2.5 ml of the cell suspension ispipetted into a optical cuvette and equilibrated to 25° C. Theabsorbance at 450 nm is monitored until constant, between 0.6 and 0.7,using a thermostatted spectrophotometer. A blank reaction is prepared ina second cuvette containing 2.5 ml Buffer A. GOLY is dissolved in coldBuffer A. 0.1 ml of the GOLY solution is added to the test cuvette, and0.1 ml Buffer A is added to the blank cuvette. The cuvettes areimmediately mixed by inversion, and the decrease in absorbance at 450 nmis recorded for approximately 5 minutes. As the bacteria lyse, theturbidity of the solution, and hence the absorbance at 450 nm, decrease.The rate of the decrease in absorbance at 450 nm in the test cuvette isproportional to the amount of GOLY in the original sample.

[0221] XI. Functional Assays

[0222] GOLY function is assessed by expressing the sequences encodingGOLY at physiologically elevated levels in mammalian cell culturesystems. cDNA is subcloned into a mammalian expression vector containinga strong promoter that drives high levels of cDNA expression. Vectors ofchoice include PCMV SPORT (Life Technologies) and PCR 3.1 (Invitrogen,Carlsbad Calif.) plasmids, both of which contain the cytomegaloviruspromoter. 5-10 μg of recombinant vector are transiently transfected intoa human cell line, preferably of endothelial or hematopoietic origin,using either liposome formulations or electroporation. 1-2 μg of anadditional plasmid containing sequences encoding a marker protein areco-transfected. Expression of a marker protein provides a means todistinguish transfected cells from nontransfected cells and is areliable predictor of cDNA expression from the recombinant vector.Marker proteins of choice include, e.g., Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)(Clontech), CD64, or a CD64-GFP fusion protein. Flow cytometry (FCM), anautomated, laser optics-based technique, is used to identify transfectedcells expressing GFP or CD64-GFP, and to evaluate properties, forexample, their apoptotic state. FCM detects and quantifies the uptake offluorescent molecules that diagnose events preceding or coincident withcell death. These events include changes in nuclear DNA content asmeasured by staining of DNA with propidium iodide; changes in cell sizeand granularity as measured by forward light scatter and 90 degree sidelight scatter; down-regulation of DNA synthesis as measured by decreasein bromodeoxyuridine uptake; alterations in expression of cell surfaceand intracellular proteins as measured by reactivity with specificantibodies; and alterations in plasma membrane composition as measuredby the binding of fluorescein-conjugated Annexin V protein to the cellsurface. Methods in flow cytometry are discussed in Ormerod, M. G.(1994) Flow Cytometry, Oxford, New York, N.Y.

[0223] The influence of GOLY on gene expression can be assessed usinghighly purified populations of cells transfected with sequences encodingGOLY and either CD64 or CD64-GFP. CD64 and CD64-GFP are expressed on thesurface of transfected cells and bind to conserved regions of humanimmunoglobulin G (IgG). Transfected cells are efficiently separated fromnontransfected cells using magnetic beads coated with either human IgGor antibody against CD64 (DYNAL, Lake Success, N.Y.). mRNA can bepurified from the cells using methods well known by those of skill inthe art. Expression of mRNA encoding GOLY and other genes of interestcan be analyzed by Northern analysis or microarray techniques.

[0224] XII. Production of GOLY Specific Antibodies

[0225] GOLY substantially purified using polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis (PAGE)(see, e.g., Harrington, M. G. (1990) MethodsEnzymol. 182:488-495), or other purification techniques, is used toimmunize rabbits and to produce antibodies using standard protocols.

[0226] Alternatively, the GOLY amino acid sequence is analyzed usingLASERGENE software (DNASTAR) to determine regions of highimmunogenicity, and a corresponding oligopeptide is synthesized and usedto raise antibodies by means known to those of skill in the art. Methodsfor selection of appropriate epitopes, such as those near the C-terminusor in hydrophilic regions are well described in the art. (See, e.g.,Ausubel supra, ch. 11.)

[0227] ABI 431A Peptide synthesizer (PE Biosystems) using Fmoc-chemistryand coupled to KLH (Sigma Aldrich) by reaction withN-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (MBS) to increaseimmunogenicity. (See, e.g., Ausubel supra.) Rabbits are immunized withthe oligopeptide-KLH complex in complete Freund's adjuvant. Resultingantisera are tested for antipeptide activity by, for example, bindingthe peptide to plastic, blocking with 1% BSA, reacting with rabbitantisera, washing, and reacting with radio-iodinated goat anti-rabbitIgG.

[0228] XIII. Purification of Naturally Occurring GOLY Using SpecificAntibodies

[0229] Naturally occurring or recombinant GOLY is substantially purifiedby immunoaffinity chromatography using antibodies specific for GOLY. Animmunoaffinity column is constructed by covalently coupling anti-GOLYantibody to an activated chromatographic resin, such as CNBr-activatedSEPHAROSE resin (Amersham PB). After the coupling, the resin is blockedand washed according to the manufacturer's instructions.

[0230] Media containing GOLY are passed over the immunoaffinity column,and the column is washed under conditions that allow the preferentialabsorbance of GOLY (e.g., high ionic strength buffers in the presence ofdetergent). The column is eluted under conditions that disruptantibody/GOLY binding (e.g., a buffer of pH 2 to pH 3, or a highconcentration of a chaotrope, such as urea or thiocyanate ion), and GOLYis collected.

[0231] XIV. Identification of Molecules Which Interact with GOLY

[0232] GOLY, or biologically active fragments thereof, are labeled with¹²⁵I Bolton-Hunter reagent. (See, e.g., Bolton et al. (1973) Biochem. J.133:529-539.) Candidate molecules previously arrayed in the wells of amulti-well plate are incubated with the labeled GOLY, washed, and anywells with labeled GOLY complex are assayed. Data obtained usingdifferent concentrations of GOLY are used to calculate values for thenumber, affinity, and association of GOLY with the candidate molecules.

[0233] Various modifications and variations of the described methods andsystems of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Althoughthe invention has been described in connection with specific preferredembodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimedshould not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed,various modifications of the described modes for carrying out theinvention which are obvious to those skilled in molecular biology orrelated fields are intended to be within the scope of the followingclaims. TABLE 1 Program Description Reference Parameter Threshold ABI Aprogram that removes vector sequences and masks Perkin-Elmer AppliedBiosystems, FACTURA ambiguous bases in nucleic acid sequences. FosterCity, CA. ABI/ A Fast Data Finder useful in comparing and annotatingPerkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems, Mismatch < 50% PARACEL amino acid ornucleic acid sequences. Foster City, CA; Paracel Inc., Pasadena, CA. FDFABI A program that assembles nucleic acid sequences. Perkin-ElmerApplied Biosystems, Auto- Foster City, CA. Assembler BLAST A Basic LocalAlignment Search Tool useful in Altschul, S. F. et al. (1990) J. Mol.Biol. ESTs: Probability value = sequence similarity search for aminoacid and 215: 403-410; Altschul, S. F. et al. (1997) 1.0E−8 or lessnucleic acid sequences. BLAST includes five Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402. Full Length sequences: functions: blastp, blastn, blastx,tblastn, and tblastx. Probability value = 1.0E−10 or less FASTA APearson and Lipman algorithm that searches for Pearson, W. R. and D. J.Lipman (1988) Proc. ESTs: fasta E value = similarity between a querysequence and a group of Natl. Acad Sci. 85: 2444-2448; Pearson, W. R.1.06E−6 sequences of the same type. FASTA comprises as least (1990)Methods Enzymol. 183: 63-98; and Assembled ESTs: fasta five functions:fasta, tfasta, fastx, tfastx, and ssearch. Smith, T. F. and M. S.Waterman (1981) Adv. Identity = 95% or greater and Appl. Math. 2:482-489. Match length = 200 bases or greater; fastx E value = 1.0E−8 orless Full Length sequences: fastx score = 100 or greater BLIMPS A BLocksIMProved Searcher that matches a sequence Henikoff, S and J. G.Henikoff, Nucl. Acid Score = 1000 or greater; against those in BLOCKSand PRINTS databases to Res., 19: 6565-72, 1991. J. G. Henikoff and S.Ratio of Score/Strength = search for gene families, sequence homology,and Henikoff (1996) Methods Enzymol. 266: 88-105; 0.75 or larger; andProbability structural fingerprint regions. and Attwood, T. K. et al.(1997) J. Chem. value = 1.0E−3 or less Inf. Comput. Sci. 37: 417-424.PFAM A Hidden Markov Models-based application useful for Krogh, A. etal. (1994) J. Mol. Biol., Score = 10-50 bits, depending protein familysearch. 235: 1501-1531; Sonnhammer, E. L. L. et al. on individualprotein families (1988) Nucleic Acids Res. 26: 320-322. ProfileScan Analgorithm that searches for structural and sequence Gribskov, M. et al.(1988) CABIOS 4: 61-66; Score = 4.0 or greater motifs in proteinsequences that match sequence Gribskov, et al. (1989) Methods Enzymol.patterns defined in Prosite. 183: 146-159; Bairoch, A. et al. (1997)Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 217-221. Phred A base-calling algorithm thatexamines automated Ewing, B. et al. (1998) Genome sequencer traces withhigh sensitivity and probability. Res. 8: 175-185; Ewing, B. and P.Green (1998) Genome Res. 8: 186-194. Phrap A Phils Revised AssemblyProgram including SWAT Smith, T. F. and M. S. Waterman (1981) Adv. Score= 120 or greater; and CrossMatch, programs based on efficient Appl.Math. 2: 482-489; Smith, T. F. and M. S. Match length = 56 or greaterimplementation of the Smith-Waterman algorithm, Waterman (1981) J. Mol.Biol. 147: 195-197; useful in searching sequence homology and and Green,P., University of assembling DNA sequences. Washington, Seattle, WA.Consed A graphical tool for viewing and editing Phrap Gordon, D. et al.(1998) Genome assemblies Res. 8: 195-202. SPScan A weight matrixanalysis program that scans protein Nielson, H. et al. (1997) ProteinEngineering Score = 5 or greater sequences for the presence of secretorysignal peptides. 10: 1-6; Claverie, J. M. and S. Audic (1997) CABIOS 12:431-439. Motifs A program that searches amino acid sequences for Bairochet al. supra; Wisconsin patterns that matched those defined in Prosite.Package Program Manual, version 9, page M51-59, Genetics Computer Group,Madison, WI.

[0234]

1 7 1 194 PRT Homo sapiens misc_feature Incyte ID No 2372794CD1 1 MetSer Ala Leu Trp Leu Leu Leu Gly Leu Leu Ala Leu Met Asp 1 5 10 15 LeuSer Glu Ser Ser Asn Trp Gly Cys Tyr Gly Asn Ile Gln Ser 20 25 30 Leu AspThr Pro Gly Ala Ser Cys Gly Ile Gly Arg Arg His Gly 35 40 45 Leu Asn TyrCys Gly Val Arg Ala Ser Glu Arg Leu Ala Glu Ile 50 55 60 Asp Met Pro TyrLeu Leu Lys Tyr Gln Pro Met Met Gln Thr Ile 65 70 75 Gly Gln Lys Tyr CysMet Asp Pro Ala Val Ile Ala Gly Val Leu 80 85 90 Ser Arg Lys Ser Pro GlyAsp Lys Ile Leu Val Asn Met Gly Asp 95 100 105 Arg Thr Ser Met Val GlnAsp Pro Gly Ser Gln Ala Pro Thr Ser 110 115 120 Trp Ile Ser Glu Ser GlnVal Ser Gln Thr Thr Glu Val Leu Thr 125 130 135 Thr Arg Ile Lys Glu IleGln Arg Arg Phe Pro Thr Trp Thr Pro 140 145 150 Asp Gln Tyr Leu Arg GlyGly Leu Cys Ala Tyr Ser Gly Gly Ala 155 160 165 Gly Tyr Val Arg Ser SerGln Asp Leu Ser Cys Asp Phe Cys Asn 170 175 180 Asp Val Leu Ala Arg AlaLys Tyr Leu Lys Arg His Gly Phe 185 190 2 1046 DNA Homo sapiensmisc_feature Incyte ID No 2372794CB1 2 ttgctatgtt gcccaggctg gtcttgaagtgccttgacct cctaaagtgt tggaaccaca 60 gacgtgagcc actccaccca gcctaaaacttcatcttctt tggatgagat gaacactttt 120 aacaagagaa caggactcta tataaatcgctgtgggctca ccacctctaa ggaggagcac 180 tgactgaaga cagaaaaatt gatgaactgaagaagacatg gtccattatg ccttacaaac 240 ttacacagtg ctttgggaat tccaaagtactcagtggaga gaggtgtttc aggagccgta 300 gagccagatc gtcatcatgt ctgcattgtggctgctgctg ggcctccttg ccctgatgga 360 cttgtctgaa agcagcaact ggggatgctatggaaacatc caaagcctgg acacccctgg 420 agcatcttgt gggattggaa gacgtcacggcctgaactac tgtggagttc gtgcttctga 480 aaggctggct gaaatagaca tgccatacctcctgaaatat caacccatga tgcaaaccat 540 tggccaaaag tactgcatgg atcctgccgtgatcgctggt gtcttgtcca ggaagtctcc 600 cggtgacaaa attctggtca acatgggcgataggactagc atggtgcagg accctggctc 660 tcaagctccc acatcctgga ttagtgagtctcaggtttcc cagacaactg aagttctgac 720 tactagaatc aaagaaatcc agaggaggtttccaacctgg acccctgacc agtacctgag 780 aggtggactc tgtgcctaca gtgggggtgctggctatgtc cgaagcagcc aggacctgag 840 ctgtgacttc tgcaatgatg tccttgcacgagccaagtac ctcaagagac atggcttcta 900 acatctcaga tgaaacccaa gaccatgatcacatatgcag cctcaaatgt tacacagata 960 aaactagcca agggcacctg taactgggaatctgagtttg acctaaaagt cattaaaata 1020 acatgaatca cattaaagga agaatt 10463 221 DNA Homo sapiens misc_feature Incyte ID No 2372794H1 3 gggatgctatggaaacatcc aaagcctgga cacccctgga gcatcttgtg ggattggaag 60 acgtcacggcctgaactact gtggagttcg tgcttctgaa aggctggctg aaatagacat 120 gccatacctcctgaaatatc aacccatgat gcaaaccatt ggccaaaagt actgcatgga 180 tcctgccgtgatcgctggtg tcttgtccag gaagtctccc g 221 4 247 DNA Homo sapiensmisc_feature Incyte ID No 3219266H1 4 taaaacttca tcttctttgg atgagatgaacacttttaac aagagaacag gactctatat 60 aaatcgctgt gggctcacca cctctaaggaggagcactga ctgaagacag aaaaattgat 120 gaactgaaga agacatggtc cattatgccttacaaactta cacagtgctt tgggaattcc 180 aaagtactca gtggagagag gtgtttcaggagccgtagag ccagatcgtc atcatgtctg 240 cattgtg 247 5 507 DNA Homo sapiensmisc_feature Incyte ID No 2372794F6 5 gggatgctat ggaaacatcc aaagcctggacacccctgga gcatcttgtg ggattggaag 60 acgtcacggc ctgaactact gtggagttcgtgcttctgaa aggctggctg aaatagacat 120 gccatacctc ctgaaatatc aacccatgatgcaaaccatt ggccaaaagt actgcatgga 180 tcctgccgtg atcgctggtg tcttgtccaggaagtctccc ggtgacaaaa ttctggtcaa 240 catgggcgat aggactagca tggtgcaggaccctggctct caagctccca catcctggat 300 tagtgagtct caggtttccc agacaactgaagttctgact actagaatca aagaaatcca 360 gaggaggttt ccaactggac ccctgaccagtactgagagg tggactctgt gcctacagtg 420 ggggtgctgg ctatgttccg aagcagccaggacctgagct gtgacttctg caatgatgtc 480 cttgcacgag ccaagtacct ccaagag 507 6546 DNA Homo sapiens misc_feature Incyte ID No 2372794T6 6 attcttcctttaatgtgatt catgttattt taatgacttt taggtcaaac tcagattccc 60 agttacaggtgcccttggct agttttatct gtgtaacatt tgaggctgca tatgtgatca 120 tggtcttgggtttcatctga gatgttagaa gccatgtctc ttgaggtact tggctcgtgc 180 aaggacatcattgcagaagt cacagctcag gtcctggctg cttcggacat agccagcacc 240 cccactgtaggcacagagtc cacctctcag gtactggtca ggggtccagg ttggaaacct 300 cctctggatttctttgattc tagtagtcag aacttcagtt gtctgggaaa cctgagactc 360 actaatccaggatgtgggag cttgagagcc agggtcctgc accatgctag tcctatcgcc 420 catgttgaccagaattttgt caccgggaga cttcctggac aagacaccag cgatcacggc 480 aggatccatgcagtactttt ggccaatggt tgcatcatgg gttgatattt caggaggtat 540 ggcatg 546 7211 PRT Homo sapiens misc_feature GenBank ID No g63428 7 Met Leu Gly LysAsn Asp Pro Met Cys Leu Val Leu Val Leu Leu 1 5 10 15 Gly Leu Thr AlaLeu Leu Gly Ile Cys Gln Gly Gly Thr Gly Cys 20 25 30 Tyr Gly Ser Val SerArg Ile Asp Thr Thr Gly Ala Ser Cys Arg 35 40 45 Thr Ala Lys Pro Glu GlyLeu Ser Tyr Cys Gly Val Arg Ala Ser 50 55 60 Arg Thr Ile Ala Glu Arg AspLeu Gly Ser Met Asn Lys Tyr Lys 65 70 75 Val Leu Ile Lys Arg Val Gly GluAla Leu Cys Ile Glu Pro Ala 80 85 90 Val Ile Ala Gly Ile Ile Ser Arg GluSer His Ala Gly Lys Ile 95 100 105 Leu Lys Asn Gly Trp Gly Asp Arg GlyAsn Gly Phe Gly Leu Met 110 115 120 Gln Val Asp Lys Arg Tyr His Lys IleGlu Gly Thr Trp Asn Gly 125 130 135 Glu Ala His Ile Arg Gln Gly Thr ArgIle Leu Ile Asp Met Val 140 145 150 Lys Lys Ile Gln Arg Lys Phe Pro ArgTrp Thr Arg Asp Gln Gln 155 160 165 Leu Lys Gly Gly Ile Ser Ala Tyr AsnAla Gly Val Gly Asn Val 170 175 180 Arg Ser Tyr Glu Arg Met Asp Ile GlyThr Leu His Asp Asp Tyr 185 190 195 Ser Asn Asp Val Val Ala Arg Ala GlnTyr Phe Lys Gln His Gly 200 205 210 Tyr

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated polypeptide selected from the groupconsisting of: a) a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of SEQID NO:1, b) a polypeptide comprising a naturally occurring amino acidsequence at least 90% identical to an amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO:1, c) a biologically active fragment of a polypeptide having an aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and d) an immunogenic fragment of apolypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 2. An isolatedpolypeptide of claim 1 comprising an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.3. An isolated polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of claim
 1. 4. Anisolated polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of claim
 2. 5. Anisolated polynucleotide of claim 4 comprising a polynucleotide sequenceof SEQ ID NO:2.
 6. A recombinant polynucleotide comprising a promotersequence operably linked to a polynucleotide of claim
 3. 7. A celltransformed with a recombinant polynucleotide of claim
 6. 8. Atransgenic organism comprising a recombinant polynucleotide of claim 6.9. A method of producing a polypeptide of claim 1, the methodcomprising: a) culturing a cell under conditions suitable for expressionof the polypeptide, wherein said cell is transformed with a recombinantpolynucleotide, and said recombinant polynucleotide comprises a promotersequence operably linked to a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide ofclaim 1, and b) recovering the polypeptide so expressed.
 10. A method ofclaim 9, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence of SEQID NO:1.
 11. An isolated antibody which specifically binds to apolypeptide of claim
 1. 12. An isolated polynucleotide selected from thegroup consisting of: a) a polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotidesequence of SEQ ID NO:2, b) a polynucleotide comprising a naturallyoccurring polynucleotide sequence at least 90% identical to apolynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, c) a polynucleotidecomplementary to a polynucleotide of a), d) a polynucleotidecomplementary to a polynucleotide of b), and e) an RNA equivalent ofa)-d).
 13. An isolated polynucleotide comprising at least 60 contiguousnucleotides of a polynucleotide of claim
 12. 14. A method of detecting atarget polynucleotide in a sample, said target polynucleotide having asequence of a polynucleotide of claim 12, the method comprising: a)hybridizing the sample with a probe comprising at least 20 contiguousnucleotides comprising a sequence complementary to said targetpolynucleotide in the sample, and which probe specifically hybridizes tosaid target polynucleotide, under conditions whereby a hybridizationcomplex is formed between said probe and said target polynucleotide orfragments thereof, and b) detecting the presence or absence of saidhybridization complex, and, optionally, if present, the amount thereof.15. A method of claim 14, wherein the probe comprises at least 60contiguous nucleotides.
 16. A method of detecting a targetpolynucleotide in a sample, said target polynucleotide having a sequenceof a polynucleotide of claim 12, the method comprising: a) amplifyingsaid target polynucleotide or fragment thereof using polymerase chainreaction amplification, and b) detecting the presence or absence of saidamplified target polynucleotide or fragment thereof, and, optionally, ifpresent, the amount thereof.
 17. A composition comprising a polypeptideof claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
 18. Acomposition of claim 17, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 19. A method for treating a disease orcondition associated with decreased expression of functional GOLY,comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment thecomposition of claim
 17. 20. A method of screening a compound foreffectiveness as an agonist of a polypeptide of claim 1, the methodcomprising: a) contacting a sample comprising a polypeptide of claim 1with a compound, and b) detecting agonist activity in the sample.
 21. Acomposition comprising an agonist compound identified by a method ofclaim 20 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
 22. A method fortreating a disease or condition associated with decreased expression offunctional GOLY, comprising administering to a patient in need of suchtreatment a composition of claim
 21. 23. A method of screening acompound for effectiveness as an antagonist of a polypeptide of claim 1,the method comprising: a) contacting a sample comprising a polypeptideof claim 1 with a compound, and b) detecting antagonist activity in thesample.
 24. A composition comprising an antagonist compound identifiedby a method of claim 23 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. 25.A method for treating a disease or condition associated withoverexpression of functional GOLY, comprising administering to a patientin need of such treatment a composition of claim
 24. 26. A method ofscreening for a compound that specifically binds to the polypeptide ofclaim 1, the method comprising: a) combining the polypeptide of claim 1with at least one test compound under suitable conditions, and b)detecting binding of the polypeptide of claim 1 to the test compound,thereby identifying a compound that specifically binds to thepolypeptide of claim
 1. 27. A method of screening for a compound thatmodulates the activity of the polypeptide of claim 1, the methodcomprising: a) combining the polypeptide of claim 1 with at least onetest compound under conditions permissive for the activity of thepolypeptide of claim 1, b) assessing the activity of the polypeptide ofclaim 1 in the presence of the test compound, and c) comparing theactivity of the polypeptide of claim 1 in the presence of the testcompound with the activity of the polypeptide of claim 1 in the absenceof the test compound, wherein a change in the activity of thepolypeptide of claim 1 in the presence of the test compound isindicative of a compound that modulates the activity of the polypeptideof claim
 1. 28. A method of screening a compound for effectiveness inaltering expression of a target polynucleotide, wherein said targetpolynucleotide comprises a sequence of claim 3, the method comprising:a) contacting a sample comprising the target polynucleotide with acompound, under conditions suitable for the expression of the targetpolynucleotide, b) detecting altered expression of the targetpolynucleotide, and c) comparing the expression of the targetpolynucleotide in the presence of varying amounts of the compound and inthe absence of the compound.
 29. A method of screening for potentialtoxicity of a test compound, the method comprising: a) treating abiological sample containing nucleic acids with the test compound, b)hybridizing the nucleic acids of the treated biological sample with aprobe comprising at least 20 contiguous nucleotides of a polynucleotideof claim 12 under conditions whereby a specific hybridization complex isformed between said probe and a target polynucleotide in the biologicalsample, said target polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequenceof a polynucleotide of claim 12 or fragment thereof, c) quantifying theamount of hybridization complex, and d) comparing the amount ofhybridization complex in the treated biological sample with the amountof hybridization complex in an untreated biological sample, wherein adifference in the amount of hybridization complex in the treatedbiological sample indicates potential toxicity of the test compound. 30.A method for a diagnostic test for a condition or disease associatedwith the expression of GOLY in a biological sample, the methodcomprising: a) combining the biological sample with an antibody of claim11, under conditions suitable for the antibody to bind the polypeptideand form an antibody:polypeptide complex, and b) detecting the complex,wherein the presence of the complex correlates with the presence of thepolypeptide in the biological sample.
 31. The antibody of claim 11,wherein the antibody is: a) a chimeric antibody, b) a single chainantibody, c) a Fab fragment, d) a F(ab′)₂ fragment, or e) a humanizedantibody.
 32. A composition comprising an antibody of claim 11 and anacceptable excipient.
 33. A method of diagnosing a condition or diseaseassociated with the expression of GOLY in a subject, comprisingadministering to said subject an effective amount of the composition ofclaim
 32. 34. A composition of claim 32, further comprising a label. 35.A method of diagnosing a condition or disease associated with theexpression of GOLY in a subject, comprising administering to saidsubject an effective amount of the composition of claim
 34. 36. A methodof preparing a polyclonal antibody with the specificity of the antibodyof claim 11, the method comprising: a) immunizing an animal with apolypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, or animmunogenic fragment thereof, under conditions to elicit an antibodyresponse, b) isolating antibodies from the animal, and c) screening theisolated antibodies with the polypeptide, thereby identifying apolyclonal antibody which specifically binds to a polypeptide comprisingan amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 37. A polyclonal antibodyproduced by a method of claim
 36. 38. A composition comprising thepolyclonal antibody of claim 37 and a suitable carrier.
 39. A method ofmaking a monoclonal antibody with the specificity of the antibody ofclaim 11, the method comprising: a) immunizing an animal with apolypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, or animmunogenic fragment thereof, under conditions to elicit an antibodyresponse, b) isolating antibody producing cells from the animal, c)fusing the antibody producing cells with immortalized cells to formmonoclonal antibody-producing hybridoma cells, d) culturing thehybridoma cells, and e) isolating from the culture monoclonal antibodywhich specifically binds to a polypeptide comprising an amino acidsequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 40. A monoclonal antibody produced by a methodof claim
 39. 41. A composition comprising the monoclonal antibody ofclaim 40 and a suitable carrier.
 42. The antibody of claim 11, whereinthe antibody is produced by screening a Fab expression library.
 43. Theantibody of claim 11, wherein the antibody is produced by screening arecombinant immunoglobulin library.
 44. A method of detecting apolypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 in asample, the method comprising: a) incubating the antibody of claim 11with the sample under conditions to allow specific binding of theantibody and the polypeptide, and b) detecting specific binding, whereinspecific binding indicates the presence of a polypeptide comprising anamino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 in the sample.
 45. A method ofpurifying a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1from a sample, the method comprising: a) incubating the antibody ofclaim 11 with the sample under conditions to allow specific binding ofthe antibody and the polypeptide, and b) separating the antibody fromthe sample and obtaining the purified polypeptide comprising an aminoacid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 46. A microarray wherein at least oneelement of the microarray is a polynucleotide of claim
 3. 47. A methodof generating an expression profile of a sample which containspolynucleotides, the method comprising: a) labeling the polynucleotidesof the sample, b) contacting the elements of the microarray of claim 46with the labeled polynucleotides of the sample under conditions suitablefor the formation of a hybridization complex, and c) quantifying theexpression of the polynucleotides in the sample.
 48. An array comprisingdifferent nucleotide molecules affixed in distinct physical locations ona solid substrate, wherein at least one of said nucleotide moleculescomprises a first oligonucleotide or polynucleotide sequencespecifically hybridizable with at least 30 contiguous nucleotides of atarget polynucleotide, and wherein said target polynucleotide is apolynucleotide of claim
 12. 49. An array of claim 48, wherein said firstoligonucleotide or polynucleotide sequence is completely complementaryto at least 30 contiguous nucleotides of said target polynucleotide. 50.An array of claim 48, wherein said first oligonucleotide orpolynucleotide sequence is completely complementary to at least 60contiguous nucleotides of said target polynucleotide.
 51. An array ofclaim 48, wherein said first oligonucleotide or polynucleotide sequenceis completely complementary to said target polynucleotide.
 52. An arrayof claim 48, which is a microarray.
 53. An array of claim 48, furthercomprising said target polynucleotide hybridized to a nucleotidemolecule comprising said first oligonucleotide or polynucleotidesequence.
 54. An array of claim 48, wherein a linker joins at least oneof said nucleotide molecules to said solid substrate.
 55. An array ofclaim 48, wherein each distinct physical location on the substratecontains multiple nucleotide molecules, and the multiple nucleotidemolecules at any single distinct physical location have the samesequence, and each distinct physical location on the substrate containsnucleotide molecules having a sequence which differs from the sequenceof nucleotide molecules at another distinct physical location on thesubstrate.